JAMB UTME centre in Canada is expected to begin operations in Ottawa in 2027, giving eligible Nigerians in Canada and North America a chance to take the examination without travelling to Nigeria solely for the test.
JAMB UTME centre in Canada will give Nigerians living abroad a new option from 2027, as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board plans to establish an examination centre in Ottawa for candidates seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The proposed centre is expected to serve eligible Nigerians in Canada and other parts of North America who want to write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) without making a trip to Nigeria specifically for the examination.
The announcement was made by JAMB on October 5, following a visit by the board’s Registrar, Professor Segun Aina, to the Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa, where discussions around the proposed centre took place.
Why JAMB is planning the Ottawa UTME centre
For Nigerians living outside the country, taking the UTME can involve more than simply registering for an examination. Candidates who do not have access to an approved foreign centre may have to travel considerable distances to sit the test.
JAMB said the Ottawa proposal is intended to reduce that barrier.
The board explained that eligible Nigerians in Canada and across North America would be able to sit the UTME closer to where they live instead of travelling to Nigeria solely for the examination.
JAMB also linked the initiative to its broader effort to make Nigerian tertiary education more accessible to Nigerians in the diaspora and strengthen their connection with the Nigerian education system.
That could be particularly useful for Nigerian families whose children are schooling abroad but may eventually want to study at a Nigerian university, polytechnic, college of education or another eligible tertiary institution.
Ottawa centre expected to start in 2027
JAMB has been careful to describe the Canadian facility as a centre it is working towards establishing.
That distinction matters.
The board has not announced that the Ottawa centre is already open for registration or that candidates can currently select Ottawa as a UTME examination location. JAMB’s public 2027 registration-centre listing currently contains approved Nigerian locations, while Ottawa has not yet appeared on that list.
The board’s announcement instead states that the Ottawa centre is expected to commence operations in 2027.
This means prospective candidates and their parents will still need to wait for JAMB to release the official 2027 registration guidelines and specific information on the Canadian centre before making arrangements.
Details such as the exact examination venue, registration procedure, available spaces and any Ottawa-specific requirements have not yet been fully released.
JAMB says the centre is not mainly about revenue
The proposal has generated questions about whether there would be enough candidates in Canada to justify an overseas UTME centre.
JAMB Registrar Segun Aina responded to some of those concerns on October 6, explaining that the board’s foreign examination centres are primarily intended to improve access rather than generate revenue.
Aina said JAMB already conducts the UTME in about 10 foreign countries and that the number of candidates is not the only consideration when establishing such centres.
He also pointed out that JAMB previously had foreign examination centres in several countries but none in North America.
According to him, the board works with Nigerian diplomatic missions in countries where foreign UTME examinations are held. Rather than necessarily renting or purchasing a permanent building, JAMB can use temporary spaces within Nigerian High Commission premises with support from diplomatic mission staff.
Aina said no money had been spent on the exploration of the proposed Canadian centre at the time of his comments, explaining that the discussions began during his visit to Canada for a conference. He also said the planned examination would be conducted within the Nigerian High Commission in Ottawa to keep costs low.
More than 100 candidates have shown interest
JAMB’s defence of the Ottawa proposal also includes an early indication of demand.
The board’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, said more than 100 prospective candidates had already indicated interest in sitting the UTME in Canada.
The figure provides an initial indication that there are Nigerians or other eligible prospective candidates in Canada interested in using such a centre, although it does not represent the final number of candidates who will register or sit the examination once the centre becomes operational.
JAMB Registrar Aina also argued that it would be difficult to use previous candidate numbers from North America to measure demand because the board had not previously provided an examination centre there.
The planned Ottawa location would therefore give JAMB an opportunity to measure actual demand once registration becomes available.
Canada would join JAMB’s foreign UTME network
The proposed Ottawa centre would not be JAMB’s first attempt to take the UTME outside Nigeria.
JAMB’s 2026 records show that foreign candidates were registered for the examination in countries including Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Ghana, Benin Republic, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The board recorded 2,243,816 total UTME registrations in 2026, including candidates registered from foreign countries.
JAMB’s official 2026 training material also listed 10 foreign locations where registration and examinations were conducted, showing that overseas UTME administration is already part of the board’s examination structure.
Ottawa would therefore represent an expansion of an existing system rather than the creation of an entirely new approach.
What Nigerians in Canada should expect
The biggest immediate change for prospective candidates is convenience.
If the Ottawa centre becomes operational as planned, eligible Nigerians in Canada would have a local option for sitting the UTME instead of travelling to Nigeria just to take the examination.
Candidates living elsewhere in North America may also benefit, although the actual convenience would depend on where the final centre is located, available capacity and JAMB’s eventual registration arrangements.
However, sitting the UTME in Canada would still be part of the Nigerian admission process. It would not mean the candidate is applying to a Canadian university through JAMB, nor would taking the examination automatically guarantee admission into a Nigerian institution.
Candidates would still have to meet the requirements of their chosen institution and programme and complete the applicable admission process.
For now, the key point is that JAMB is planning an Ottawa UTME centre for 2027, but the centre is not yet open.
More operational details are expected when JAMB begins releasing its formal 2027 UTME registration information. Until then, Nigerians in Canada interested in the opportunity should rely on official JAMB announcements rather than unofficial registration offers or claims that the Ottawa centre is already accepting candidates.
