The Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, led by Senator Mohammed Muntari Dandutse, has urged the federal government to establish Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centers in all 774 local government areas of Nigeria. This initiative aims to facilitate the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), a computer-based test conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), for candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions.

During a monitoring exercise of the ongoing UTME, Senator Dandutse expressed concern over the absence of examination centers in several local government areas. He emphasized the importance of accessible education and stated that the federal government should ensure that UTME is easily accessible to all Nigerians. He highlighted the disparity in his own senatorial district, Katsina South, where only two out of eleven local government councils have ICT centers for UTME.

Senator Dandutse affirmed that the Senate, in collaboration with the House of Representatives, will work towards allocating funds in the 2026 fiscal year to support the establishment of these ICT centers. The goal is to ensure that every local government council has a CBT center to accommodate the computer-based examination.

JAMB's spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, informed the committee that while JAMB has approximately 880 ICT centers nationwide, these centers do not cover all 774 local government areas. He welcomed the committee's initiative to facilitate budgetary provisions for the establishment of ICT centers in underserved local government councils.

Fabian Benjamin reassured the committee members that JAMB has implemented measures to prevent system malfunctions from affecting candidates' performance during the examination. The system is designed to ensure fair and reliable testing conditions.

Senators Jibrin Isah (Kogi East) and Diket Plang (Plateau Central) were also present during the monitoring exercise.