JAMB has opened the 2026 change of course portal, and every UTME candidate who wants a different school or programme must move this week. Every candidate who scored below expectations or wants a different school must act through an accredited CBT centre now.
For Nigerian students, course and institution choices at the UTME stage shape everything that follows: admission timelines, career paths, and sometimes entire family trajectories. JAMB has handed candidates a second chance.
How to Use the JAMB 2026 Change of Course Portal
The portal does not work from your phone at home. JAMB requires a physical visit to an approved CBT centre, full stop. Every change must be made in person at a Board-approved location.
Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Public Communication Adviser, announced the opening via the Board’s verified X account. The portal went live without delay - candidates can walk into a centre today and make their changes. Bring valid identification and your JAMB registration number.
JAMB issued a firm warning against unapproved centres. Fraudsters operate near examination venues every cycle, collecting fees and making no real changes. Using an accredited centre is not optional; it is the only way to update your registers on the board’s system.
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UTME Result Slip Printing Begins May 18 - What You Need to Know
JAMB confirmed that printing of the original 2026 UTME result slips begins on Monday, May 18, 2026. This is not the SMS score notification candidates have already received. Unlike an SMS score notification, the printed slip is a secured document; it carries your photograph and verification features that institutions will check at screening. No slip means no entry.
Universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education across Nigeria will require it for post-UTME screening and institutional registration. Institutions have consistently rejected candidates at screening who cannot produce the official slip.
Visit any accredited CBT centre from May 18 onwards to collect yours. The same centres handling the change of course will process the result slip printing. Combining both in a single visit matters more than it sounds for candidates travelling from rural LGAs, a repeat trip costs money families often don’t have to spare.
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Why This Moment Matters More Than Candidates Realise
JAMB released 2026 results earlier, but the official slip, the document institutions actually accept, wasn’t available. Candidates have been holding SMS scores that tertiary institutions won’t recognise at screening. That gap closes on May 18.
JAMB publishes its full list of approved CBT centres at jamb.gov.ng - confirm your nearest centre before travelling far.
The change of course window will not stay open indefinitely. JAMB has not announced a specific closing date, but based on previous cycles, the window typically closes without extended notice. Candidates who delay risk locking themselves into choices they no longer want.
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