Fly home just to sit an exam? Maybe not for much longer. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, says it's working towards a centre in Ottawa for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, the UTME.

It announced the plan on Monday, after registrar Segun Aina visited the Nigerian High Commission there. Start date, 2027. The centre would serve eligible Nigerians in Canada and elsewhere in North America who'd otherwise travel to Nigeria just to sit the exam.

How would it work? JAMB already runs the UTME in about 10 foreign countries, Aina says. It borrows temporary space inside Nigerian High Commissions. Diplomatic staff help run the exam. Ottawa would do the same, which keeps costs low. The start depends on arrangements with the High Commission being completed.

Who's it for? On Tuesday a user asked Aina on X why JAMB needs a Canada centre when several centres at home aren't properly run. Aina replied that candidate numbers aren't the main driver.

North America has no centre, he said, though Africa has several. Potential candidates have already made enquiries. He pointed to Nigerians who move back each year and children of service personnel posted abroad. And no money's been spent so far.

What don't we know? The announcements give no fees, registration dates or definition of "eligible Nigerians." The UTME is also only step one. Candidates then take part in the admission process at their chosen institutions. More than two million candidates sat the UTME this year.

For some families, that could remove a trip home. The admission process that follows doesn't change.