The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been urged to publish detailed data on the performance, demand and operating costs of its foreign examination centres before opening a proposed Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) centre in Ottawa, Canada, in 2027.
The call was made by the iRead To Live Initiative following JAMB’s announcement that eligible Nigerians living in Canada and other parts of North America would be able to sit the UTME without travelling to Nigeria.
While acknowledging that the proposed Ottawa centre could improve access for Nigerians in the diaspora, the initiative questioned whether JAMB had provided enough publicly available evidence to justify expanding its overseas examination network.
JAMB Plans Ottawa UTME Centre for 2027
JAMB announced earlier in October that it was working towards establishing a UTME examination centre in Ottawa, following a visit by its Registrar, Professor Segun Aina, to the Nigerian High Commission in Canada.
The board said the proposed centre would make it easier for eligible Nigerians living in Canada and elsewhere in North America to take the examination without travelling to Nigeria solely for the purpose of writing the UTME.
JAMB has described the initiative as part of efforts to make access to Nigerian tertiary education more inclusive and strengthen the connection between Nigerians abroad and the country's education system.
Aina has also defended the plan, saying JAMB's overseas examination programme is primarily about access rather than revenue generation.
According to him, JAMB already conducts the UTME in about 10 countries outside Nigeria and has worked with Nigerian diplomatic missions to provide examination facilities for Nigerians abroad.
He said the Ottawa examination would be conducted using temporary facilities at the Nigerian High Commission rather than through a permanent JAMB-owned computer-based testing centre.
Aina further said JAMB had not spent money on establishing the proposed Canadian centre so far, explaining that discussions began during a visit to Canada for a conference.
Group Questions Transparency of Foreign Centres
Despite JAMB's explanation, the iRead To Live Initiative said the board should first provide evidence showing how existing foreign examination centres have performed.
In its policy commentary published on October 7, the initiative said JAMB had operated foreign UTME centres since at least 2013 but had not published comprehensive information showing how many candidates use the centres, what they cost or what measurable outcomes they have produced.
The group argued that the proposed Ottawa centre therefore raises broader questions about the evidence base behind JAMB's overseas expansion.
It said Nigerians should be able to determine whether existing foreign centres are meeting their objectives before additional locations are established.
The initiative specifically called for the publication of candidate registration figures, attendance, admissions, enrolment and the cost of operating each foreign centre.
It also wants JAMB to disclose how many candidates who took the UTME abroad eventually secured admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions and how many proceeded to enrol.
JAMB Has Spent Money on Foreign UTME Supervision
The call for greater transparency comes amid evidence that JAMB incurs expenditure in running its overseas examination programme.
JAMB's own 2025 bulletin reported that the board spent ₦113.8 million supervising the UTME across seven foreign centres.
The centres listed were Buea in Cameroon, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, London in the United Kingdom, Johannesburg in South Africa, Lomé in Togo, Cotonou in Benin Republic and Accra in Ghana.
JAMB said the foreign UTME programme also contributed to the global visibility of Nigerian tertiary institutions by helping encourage international students to enrol in Nigerian universities.
The iRead To Live Initiative is asking the board to go beyond publishing aggregate expenditure and provide clearer centre-by-centre information that would allow the public to assess value for money.
Such information, it argued, would help answer questions about how much it costs to serve each candidate at an overseas centre compared with the number of candidates who actually use the facility.
Demand for Ottawa Centre Also Questioned
The initiative also questioned whether the presence of a sizeable Nigerian community in Canada, by itself, was enough to justify establishing an examination centre in Ottawa.
It argued that the size of the Nigerian diaspora does not necessarily indicate how many young Nigerians living in Canada intend to pursue undergraduate education in Nigeria.
JAMB, however, has said it has already received expressions of interest from prospective candidates.
JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin said more than 100 prospective candidates had indicated an interest in taking the UTME in Canada.
The board has maintained that the absence of a North American examination centre has itself limited the number of potential candidates who could take the UTME there.
Call for Annual Report on Foreign UTME
The iRead To Live Initiative recommended that JAMB publish an annual report dedicated to its foreign UTME programme.
According to the group, the report should include the number of candidates registered at each centre, attendance figures, candidates' nationalities, admissions and enrolment outcomes, examination malpractice cases and the cost per candidate.
It also called for a public register containing information about all foreign UTME centres established since the programme began.
The register, it said, should show when each centre was opened or closed and explain the reasons for any changes.
The initiative further wants JAMB to publish clear criteria for establishing or shutting down foreign examination centres before the Ottawa facility begins operations.
Those criteria should include documented demand, the location and size of Nigerian communities, expected operating costs and a minimum number of candidates required to sustain a centre.
Access and International Recruitment Are Different Goals
Another concern raised by the initiative is the need for JAMB to distinguish between providing examination access to Nigerians living abroad and using foreign UTME centres to attract international students to Nigerian universities.
The group said the two objectives require different measurements of success.
For Nigerians in the diaspora, it argued, the key question should be whether the overseas examination centres are being used by Nigerians who intend to study in Nigeria and whether the service is being delivered at a reasonable cost.
International student recruitment, on the other hand, depends on wider issues such as visa processing, security, tuition fees, accommodation and the quality of Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The initiative therefore said JAMB alone could not be responsible for measuring the success of Nigeria's international education strategy.
It identified institutions and agencies including the Federal Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education, National Commission for Colleges of Education, Nigeria Immigration Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerians in Diaspora Commission as relevant stakeholders.
Concerns Over Examination Integrity and Data Protection
The proposed Ottawa centre also raises questions about examination integrity and data protection.
The initiative asked how JAMB would ensure that candidates taking the examination in Canada are assessed under standards equivalent to those applied to candidates in Nigeria.
It also questioned how the board would handle examinations conducted on different dates and ensure that scores are properly equated.
Another concern involves the transfer and handling of candidates' biometric information between Canada and Nigeria under Nigeria's data-protection framework.
The group argued that JAMB should publicly explain the safeguards that would be applied to candidates' personal and biometric information.
JAMB Says Foreign Centres Are About Access
JAMB's position is that overseas examination centres should not necessarily be judged solely by financial viability.
Registrar Segun Aina has repeatedly said the purpose is to remove barriers preventing eligible Nigerians abroad from participating in the Nigerian tertiary admission process.
He also explained that JAMB works with Nigerian diplomatic missions in countries where foreign UTME centres operate, allowing the board to use temporary spaces and assistance from embassy or high commission personnel rather than establishing permanent facilities.
The proposed Ottawa centre is expected to follow the same model, with the Nigerian High Commission providing the location.
The disagreement therefore centres less on whether Nigerians abroad should have access to the UTME and more on how the programme should be evaluated and publicly accounted for.
As preparations continue for the 2027 UTME, the iRead To Live Initiative wants JAMB to publish sufficient evidence on its existing foreign centres before expanding the programme to Canada.
The group maintains that greater transparency would allow Nigerians, policymakers and the National Assembly to determine whether overseas UTME centres are delivering value, improving access and contributing meaningfully to Nigerian tertiary education.
With the Ottawa centre expected to begin operations in 2027, the debate is likely to continue over whether JAMB's expansion abroad should be driven primarily by access considerations or supported by publicly available data demonstrating demand, performance and cost-effectiveness.
