In this investigation by ANTHONY ADA ABRAHAM, Private CBT centre operators across Nigeria are crying out for survival, alleging systemic neglect, financial suffocation, and blanket criminalisation by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). After weeks of investigation and interviews with aggrieved stakeholders, this reporter uncovers what many have described as a slow, calculated extinction of private digital exam operators.
In the wake of the 2025 UTME examination fiasco, where the JAMB Registrar publicly wept over technical glitches that rendered candidates’ results in Lagos and the five South-Eastern states invalid, CBT centres were hurriedly recalled to the rescue. A rescheduled exam was hastily fixed, and an emergency Zoom meeting was convened on May 15. Despite not being informed in advance, several centres were reactivated – including previously delisted ones in Imo, Ebonyi, and Anambra.
But almost 75 days later, those same centres that salvaged the Board from national embarrassment are yet to be paid.
“It’s tragic,” one CBT owner in Anambra told me. “We saved JAMB’s reputation, and in return, we are blacklisted, insulted, and impoverished.”
The financial strain is compounded by what operators call a “one-sided operational structure.” According to JAMB’s May 26 bulletin, N3.006 billion was disbursed as initial payment for 2025 exams. But CBT centres say many of them are still unpaid , especially those that handled the emergency resit.
Worse still, centres that dared to demand their legitimate dues were described by JAMB as blackmailers in the same bulletin. Several operators now believe JAMB is systematically choking the private CBT ecosystem with impossible expectations, late payments, and sudden accusations.
Albino Feature Scandal: Blanket Condemnation or Poor Oversight?
In June, JAMB began querying several southern centres, accusing them of “tampering with candidate images” using an inbuilt feature known as the Albino Capture Option. The Board alleged this was exploited to aid impersonation via AI-blended photos.
However, multiple CBT centre owners told me this feature has existed for years and is part of JAMB’s own software used to ease the biometric capture of candidates with challenging features. Most insisted that their staff including properly profiled adhoc workers used the albino feature only to overcome technical difficulties during registration.
“The truth is simple,” one CBT technician in Enugu stated. “Without JAMB staff’s cooperation, malpractice can’t happen. We have only 3 staff in a hall. They bring 10. So who really controls the space?”
Indeed, JAMB’s narrative of massive malpractice is being challenged by the operators, many of whom say they were never shown evidence, nor were they granted fair hearings before being suspended or delisted.
High Cost, Low Return: The Hidden Economics of CBT Centres
Perhaps most damning are the figures. After analysing financial data provided by multiple centres and comparing 2019 with 2025, the picture is bleak:
Registration fee for centres: Still ₦700 per candidate since 2018.
JAMB form for students: Increased from ₦3,500 in 2017 to ₦8,700 in 2025.
Cost of diesel (2025): Up to ₦1,000 per litre.
Average CBT centre expenditure for 2,000 candidates (2025): Over ₦4.7 million.
Total revenue from JAMB for same capacity: Approx. ₦4.1 million.
That’s a loss of nearly ₦1.5 million, not counting rent, equipment repairs, transportation, or staffing costs.
“How do we survive?” asked a centre owner in Owerri. “This is not a business. This is charity to the government.”
JAMB’s promise of ₦1,500 per successful candidate in 2024 was welcomed, but the reality, according to several operators, is that deductions for mock sessions, fourth session exams, and delays in payments have erased any gains.
From Accreditation to Exploitation?
Before conducting any exam, CBT centres must undergo rigorous inspections and technical tests dubbed AUTOBOT 1, 2, and 3 costing upwards of ₦1 million annually. Yet, not a single naira comes from JAMB to support these efforts.
Operators must build fully networked computer labs with backup power, hire and train staff, manage logistics, and even distribute JAMB’s reading texts to candidates without compensation.
“The Board gains prestige and billions in revenue,” one Lagos-based centre said, “but the people powering the system are left to die.”
Way Forward: Demand for Dialogue, Justice and Payment
Stakeholders say they are not against accountability but demand fairness, transparency, and prompt payment for services rendered. They also call for proper engagement, clear guidelines, and the prosecution of individuals actually involved in malpractice , not entire centres punished on assumptions.
They are urging the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Assembly, and the Presidency to intervene before the system collapses.
“CBT centres are the backbone of digital examination in Nigeria,” a stakeholder in Abia told me. “If JAMB doesn’t respect that, the future of digital exams is in serious danger.”
For now, the silence from JAMB headquarters remains deafening.
Anthony Ada Abraham is an investigative journalist reporting on on government policies and national development. He can be reached at tkmmedia2012@gmail.com