The Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND announced on Friday that it would advocate for the allocation of funds to establish Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centres in all 774 local government areas across Nigeria.
The centres are intended to assist candidates preparing for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and other computer-based exams conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
During a press briefing in Abuja as part of the ongoing UTME monitoring, the Committee’s Chairman, Senator Mohammed Dandutse (APC – Katsina South), expressed concern over the lack of examination centres in certain local governments across the country.
Dandutse emphasized the need to simplify the process of key examinations like the UTME, noting that the federal government is committed to ensuring that more students have access to quality education within Nigeria.
He stated, “In making it easy for candidates seeking admissions into universities or other tertiary institutions through UTME, the ICT centres must be available in all the 774 local government councils across the country.”
He added, “I am from Katsina South Senatorial District, where only two out of the eleven local government councils have ICT centres for UTME.”
“Since the examination is computer-based, the centres for it need to be made available across the 774 local government councils in the country.”
“In doing this, the committee of the Senate in collaboration with our colleagues in the House of Representatives shall facilitate budgetary provisions for it in the 2026 fiscal year.”
In his earlier remarks, JAMB spokesperson Fabian Benjamin explained that while the board has 880 ICT centres nationwide, they do not cover all 774 local government councils.
He said, “JAMB presently has close to 900 ICT centres across the country, and in fact, precisely 880 centres which, however, do not cover all the 774 local government councils across the country.”
“We shall be happy if the committee facilitates budgetary provisions for the establishment of ICT centres in local government councils across the country that are yet to have one.”
Benjamin also addressed concerns raised by some committee members regarding the reliability of the system used for the exams, assuring that the system had been designed to ensure smooth operation without compromising candidates’ performance.
The committee, which included Senators Jibrin Isah (Kogi East) and Diket Plang (Plateau Central), expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by JAMB for the successful conduct of the ongoing UTME.
