Life Skills, Critical Thinking": JAMB Considers Review of UTME Exercise

• JAMB launched a review of the UTME format to go beyond the subject knowledge already tested at O-Level by WAEC and NECO
• The board set up a committee to decide how new competencies like critical thinking and logical reasoning should be built into the exam
• The committee has four weeks to submit its initial recommendations on improving the fairness and predictive validity of the UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has begun a formal review of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), with plans to weave life skills, critical thinking, analytical ability, and verbal and logical reasoning into the test.

The board said the move is driven by the need to make the UTME more than a repeat assessment of subjects already covered at the O-Level stage by WAEC and NECO. According to JAMB, the examination should better reflect what candidates need to thrive in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

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Why JAMB is rethinking the UTME

Central to the review is whether the current exam format can reliably predict a candidate's chances of succeeding in tertiary education. JAMB raised concerns that the existing structure may not fully serve that purpose, and the review will assess how to close that gap.

To drive the process, JAMB has inaugurated a committee tasked with deciding whether the new competencies should be treated as separate components or folded into subjects already on the UTME. The committee will also look at other steps that could make the examination more fair and transparent.

Assessment experts are expected to develop the actual framework if the committee's recommendations are approved.

UTME: Four-week deadline for initial report

The committee has four weeks to deliver its first set of recommendations to JAMB. The board did not give a timeline for when any changes would take effect, but the inauguration of the committee signals that concrete action is already under way.

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The review comes months after widespread scrutiny of the UTME, following the controversy over the 2025 results in which many candidates scored below 200, raising questions about the examination's design and administration.

The development was reported on X here:

How to print JAMB CAPS document

Legit.ng earlier reported that JAMB has outlined the steps candidates must follow to access and print their admission letter through the CAPS portal.

The process requires candidates to log into their JAMB profile and navigate to the admission status section.

Candidates must accept their admission on CAPS before they can proceed to print the official letter.

Source: Legit.ng