The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) has terminated its contract with Territorium Life following irregularities in the online admission exam [1].
This decision disrupts the entry process for the 2026-2027 school cycle, affecting thousands of students seeking placement at one of the region's most prestigious institutions [3]. The move signals a shift back toward traditional verification methods to ensure academic integrity.
UNAM officials said the university rescinded the agreement with the company responsible for the online platform ahead of schedule [1]. The administration has now announced the implementation of a face-to-face control exam to verify the results of the applicants [2].
To address the systemic failures, the university is launching three separate audits [4]. These investigations will focus on the technical performance of the platform, and the procurement process used to hire the contractor [1].
The fallout from the platform's failure has had a direct impact on candidates. Approximately 6,200 applicants lost their places at UNAM after the online exam was canceled [5]. This mass disruption has forced the university to reorganize its selection timeline to accommodate the necessary oversight.
University leadership said the audits are necessary to determine how the irregularities occurred and to prevent future failures in the digital transition of the admissions process [2]. The transition to online testing was intended to streamline access, but the current crisis has highlighted the risks of relying on third-party software for high-stakes academic certification [1].
For now, the university is prioritizing the restoration of a fair selection process. The shift to in-person testing serves as a temporary safeguard while the internal audits determine the extent of the contractual and technical breaches [2].
“UNAM has terminated its contract with Territorium Life following irregularities in the online admission exam.”
The cancellation of the Territorium Life contract reflects the high risk associated with outsourcing critical public infrastructure to private tech firms. By reverting to in-person control exams and launching multiple audits, UNAM is attempting to recover public trust and institutional legitimacy. This event may lead other large educational institutions to implement more rigorous stress-testing and redundancies before fully digitizing their admissions processes.
