The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has explained its decision to establish a Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination centre in Ottawa, Canada.

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Segun Aina, said the planned centre was established primarily to expand access to the UTME for Nigerians living in Canada and other parts of North America, rather than to generate revenue.

Aina made this known in a series of posts on X on Tuesday while responding to questions surrounding JAMB’s plan to conduct the 2027 UTME in Canada.

According to the registrar, the proposed Ottawa centre will enable Nigerians residing in Canada and other parts of North America who intend to gain admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions to sit for the examination closer to their place of residence.

He explained that JAMB currently conducts the UTME in about 10 countries outside Nigeria as part of efforts to improve access to the examination.

“UTME is currently being written in about 10 countries as a service to enhance access to education. We also conduct the exams in correctional service centres for the same reason. So the number of candidates is not the main driving force,” Aina stated.

The JAMB registrar stressed that the number of candidates in a particular country was not the major factor considered before establishing an examination centre.

He added that while JAMB has several UTME centres across African countries, there was previously no examination centre in North America.

The planned Ottawa centre is therefore expected to fill that gap and provide greater convenience for Nigerians in Canada and neighbouring parts of North America seeking admission into Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions.

The development is expected to take effect from the 2027 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.