JAMB sets 1 month for UTME registration

Still on this jamb issue o

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on
Monday said that it would not extend the period of
registration of candidates for its 2017 all Computer Based
Test (CBT) UTME.
The board’s Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede told newsmen
on the sideline of a stakeholders’ meeting attended by
owners of CBT centres nationwide, organised by JAMB at
the University of Lagos.
According to him, registration of candidates for the
Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination will be for a
period of one month – March 20 to April 19, as against
the previous three months period.
He said that the essence of reducing the period of
registration from three months to one month was to
eliminate all ills associated with prolonged registration of
candidates.
JAMB-CBT-Centre
“There will also be mock examination for prospective
candidates, and this examination will be purely optional.
“Those who register for the mock examination will sit for
it on April 8, but the UTME proper will commence on May
6 to May 20.
“We have put in place facilities that will make it easy for
candidates to register.
“For instance, as soon as a candidate creates his profile
on his mobile phone, automatically, we will send our e-
syllabus and e-brochure into his e-mail.
“So, even before going to pay for the mock, he already
has all the materials that he will need for the registration.
“We are also talking to CBT centre operators not to extort
candidates just as we are also asking candidates not to
pay now for the mock examination which is purely
optional,’’ the registrar said.
He said that the mock examination had been made free
by JAMB for interested candidates, adding that the
gesture was part of the board’s corporate social
responsibility.
According to Oloyede, candidates would pay N700 to
owners of centres where they would be posted at the
point of registration for the mock examination.
“We will not charge fees for the mock examination
because we want to do it as our own way of giving back
to the society.
“But the CBT centres will be allowed to charge a token of
N700 for the mock and it is at that point that all
prospective candidates for the mock examination are
expected to pay.
“There will also be no cash transaction. Candidates can
use their ATMs or if they must use cash, they can pay
into the banks to avoid extortion of any kind.
“This is because there are people out there that want to
take advantage of these candidates’ naivety.
“So it is important for candidates to keep passwords to
their e–emails, ATM cards and even registration numbers
to themselves and safe, to avoid being exposed to those
who might want to take advantage of them’’ he said.
The registrar added that over 600 public and private
centres had been approved for the conduct of this year’s
UTME nationwide.
He said that so far, the board was satisfied with the level
of readiness of the centres for the examination.
He added that the board would not accredit centres jointly
owned by associations, adding that accreditation was
based strictly on individual operator and those accredited
as owner of CBT centre.
The registrar said that the essence of the stakeholders’
meeting with owners of centres was to put finishing
touches to the state of readiness ahead of the
examination.
“I started this morning by interacting with transporters,
after which I met with the state coordinators and later
with banks and now with CBT centre operators.
“The essence is to ensure that everybody involved in the
preparation for registration of candidates for the
examination will have adequate information and is carried
along.
“We are equally distributing materials to centres all over
the country; for instance, the e-syllabus and e-brochure
will be distributed to every prospective candidate among
other things,’’ he said.
Newsmen report that no fewer than 400 CBT centre
operators nationwide participated in the meeting