Tag: JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that the registration for this year’s Direct Entry (DE) has been extended till a later date.

Its Public Communication Advisor, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, announced this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.

According to him, in a bid to ensure that no Nigerian child is denied access to quality higher education, the board has decided to move the closing date for the Direct Entry registration to a later date.

JAMB had announced the commencement of the registration of this year’s Direct Entry from February 28 to March 28.

Read Also: JAMB Registrar: 1.94m candidates write UTME

The board also extended the exercise by two weeks, bringing the closing date for the registration to April 11, due to some factors.

“Again, reports reaching us show that there is a surge by candidates, especially in Lagos, to beat this registration deadline.

“The board wants to call on all candidates yet to register for the DE to calm down, as the registration deadline is again extended. This is because of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in centres across the country.

“Again, it is also our mandate to ensure that no Nigerian desirous of access to quality education is left behind.

“The board will soon announce a new date for the end of this year’s DE registration and, so, candidates should relax but ensure they register as soon as possible,” Benjamin said.

• Dad arrested for impersonating son during exam

The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has said 1.94 million candidates are projected to sit for the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) across the country.

Oloyede spoke yesterday while inspecting Computer Based Test (CBT) centres in Kaduna State.

The JAMB boss said at the end of the examination, there would be less than 100,000 candidates remaining in Lagos, Benue, and other states.

He explained that the pace at which JAMB cleared candidates and captured biometrics made the exercise faster.

Oloyede said this was part of JAMB’s re-engineering process towards conducting hitch-free examinations.

“Even today, I have seen something which we need to improve on. But most importantly, we have done so many things in the background to make the exercise faster, more efficient and better. We have increased the level of automation,” he said.

The JAMB registrar frowned at examination cheaters, saying: “It does not pay.”

Also, Oloyede yesterday announced that the police had arrested a father for impersonating his son during the UTME.

The JAMB registrar announced this while inspecting UTME centres in Kaduna.

He said this year’s edition of the examination was largely well conducted except for a few cases of impersonation.

Oloyede said the board detected the cases of impersonation by some people having multiple National Identity Numbers (NINs).

The JAMB boss warned that those who cheat during the examination would be arrested now or after the examination.

Read Also: JAMB: Father arrested for impersonating son during UTME

He said JAMB has improved its technology to check those engaging in all forms of examination malpractices.

Addressing reporters after the inspection at the Kaduna State University (KASU) CBT Centre, Oloyede said: “For those who engage in cheating, they should know that it does not pay. The technology is helping us to check that.

“Across the country, most of the problem we have is impersonation. For instance, we say we have a NIN; we now have cases of people with two NINs. Therefore, that has defeated the purpose of identity verification. We are going to take that up with NIMC, that there are people who have two NINs.

“We have a case of a father impersonating his son, writing the examination for the son. I wonder: are you not destroying your son’s future? Of course, two of them are now in custody. I can’t understand what the father will now tell his son when they are both locked up in the same cell.

“This happened, definitely not in Kaduna, but I don’t want to disclose the state…”

The JAMB registrar said the UTME ended yesterday in Kaduna bit would end today and tomorrow in other places across the country.

He sought the cooperation of the Lagos State government to build a befitting CBT in the state.

Oloyede said the Muhammadu Buhari mega-CBT centre, which could accommodate 4,000 candidates daily, was instrumental to the efficiency and timelines of the examination in Kaduna.

“This is why Kaduna is finishing earlier than other states in the country,” he said.

The registrar said JAMB required such a centre in Lagos State, where it puts pressure on the authorities to make provision for it.

“I believe the authorities in Lagos will hear our call and provide us with suitable land. We will develop it.

“I am not sure if there is a CBT centre that is as large, comfortable and meeting the standard as the Muhammadu Buhari mega-CBT centre here in Kaduna.

“We need at least three of such centres. We have the resources to build them. We only require the state governments to provide us with lands,” Oloyede said.

The registrar announced that Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum had provided land for the board to build a mega-CBT centre.

…as Registrar seeks state’s support to build mega CBT centre in Lagos

Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed that a father has been arrested alongside his son by the police for impersonating his son during the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede who disclosed this while on an inspection tour of the UTME centres in Kaduna on Wednesday, April 24, said the 2024 examination is largely well conducted, except for a few cases of impersonation, which became possible because some people now have multiple National Identity Number (NIN).

Prof. Oloyede warned that those who cheated in the exams will be arrested either now or much later after the examination, saying that JAMB has improved its technology to check those engaging in all forms of examination malpractices.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the inspection at Kaduna State University (KASU) CBT Centre, the JAMB Registrar said: “For those who engage in cheating, they should know that it does not pay. The technology is helping to check that.

“Across the country, most of the problem we have is impersonation. For instance, now, we say we have NIN, we now have cases of people with two NINs and therefore, that has defeated the purpose of identity verification. We are going to take that up with NIMC, that there are people who have two NINs.

“We have a case of a father impersonating his son, writing an examination for the son and I wonder, are you not destroying your son’s future? Of course, two of them are now in custody. I can’t understand what the father will now tell his son when they are both locked up in the same cell. This happened not in Kaduna, but I don’t want to disclose the state.

Read Also: 1.94 million students sat for 2024 JAMB – Registrar

“So, it is largely cases of impersonation, but we are ahead of them; we are just picking them up like chicken now because the facilities are there for us to see what they are doing and to pick them up. And even those that we have left for research purposes, they will see what will happen after the exams,” he said.

The JAMB Registrar also used the opportunity to inform those who have missed the exam, for reasons not caused by the Examination body, to forget about it, saying that, JAMB cannot spend tens of millions of the nation’s resources to reorganize a session for few candidates who missed the exams due to their personal recklessness.

He warned that UTME is not a school-based examination, as such, JAMB would not be responsible for any failure caused to candidates who registered through their secondary schools who either deliberately or due to logistics challenges could not get the candidates to meet their requirements.

“Most of those candidates who missed the UTME are students from hostels who were made to register through schools because of the money the schools want to collect from the parents in the name of JAMB, which would now put 30 students in one bus. They will now be dropping them in different locations. By the time they get to the last student’s centre, he is already late for the exam. You will now see the principal writing to me. What business do I have with a school?

“Even a religious body wrote to me that, oh, the following 100 candidates, I want them to write their exams on a particular day of the examination. They were even deciding for me the school to post the candidates. How is that possible? I will ask the candidates, why did you submit your registration number to a third party that is writing to me, when the person is not a candidate. And you know as a candidate that you have a right to write to JAMB directly. But, they allow the third party who will lie on their behalf to contact JAMB,” he said.

Speaking on the need for a mega CBT Centre in Lagos, Professor Oloyede who said 1.94million candidates were sitting for the 2024 UTME, said the Board needs the support of highly populated states like Lagos, to build mega CBT centres like that of Kaduna, which accommodates 4,000 candidates per day.

He said: “If we can have two or three such CBT Centres across the country, most of our challenges would be over. And we have the resources to build it. We only require the state governments to provide the land.

“We require this type of centre in Lagos too, but we have put enough pressure on the authorities in Lagos, but they have not given us the desired response. You can see the relief this centre that, the Kaduna State Government provided land for, is giving us. Kaduna government provided us with the land and we expended from the public fund more than N1.4billion to build those four centres you can see, that they are sitting 1,100 candidates at a time, which means, in two days, you would have done the exam for 8,000 candidates. But I believe the authorities in Lagos will respond to our call and provide a suitable land. We will build it,” the JAMB boss said.

The Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, says no fewer than 1.94 million candidates sat for the 2024 examinations in the country.

Oloyede said this on Wednesday in Kaduna, while inspecting Computer Based Test (CBT) centres in the state amidst the ongoing JAMB examinations.

He added that at the end of the examination today, there would be less than 100,000 candidates remaining in Lagos, Benue and other states in the country.

Oloyede explained that the pace at which JAMB cleared candidates and captured biometrics made the exercise faster.

He noted this was part of JAMB’s re-engineering process towards ensuring hitch-free exercise.

“Even today, I have seen something which we need to improve on, but most importantly, we have done so many things in the background to make the exercise faster, more efficient and better. We have increased the level of automation,” he said.

The Registrar frowned at examination cheaters, saying “It does not pay”.

He said that most of the problems JAMB faced were impersonation.

He specifically said most of the cases were candidates who have double National Identification Number (NIN), adding that JAMB would take up the issue with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

“The important thing is that we are ahead of the impersonators, we have arrested a father writing examinations for his son, the kind of parenting in this generation is uncalled for, I wonder what the father will tell the son if they are locked up in the same cell.

“We now have the facilities to check all sorts of impersonation and other malpractices,” he said.

The registrar, however, thanked parents for their support, recalling that in previous years; they were seen loitering around examination centres disturbing.

Read Also: UTME: JAMB officials under fire for asking candidate to remove hijab

“There is no report this year of parents intruding, except one state. In that state, they felt since the first session failed, their children should not continue with the second or other sessions.

“Out of the country’s 775 centres, those who failed were not up to 20, and only one failed. Less than 30 of the centres failed at the first session because of ill preparation.

“When such things happen, the candidates should stay aside for the next session to move because questions are designed individually for a candidate,” he said.

(NAN)

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has said the candidate,  Ms. Tiamiyu Ayisat Morenikeji, who was asked to remove her Hijab at Bafuto Institute, Ejigbo, Lagos, did not lose any minute out of her scheduled time. 

A statement by JAMB’s  Public Communication Advisor (PCA), Dr Fabian Benjamin said a  clarification was necessary to dispel the erroneous insinuations in some quarters that she was not allowed into the examination venue until after 30 minutes with some even calling for compensation. 

He described it as a ‘misleading narrative aimed at further inflaming passion and exacerbating an already-settled issue.’

Benjamin said the call for compensation is misplaced  because the candidate was not deprived of anything as the fracas lasted not more than five minutes and happened even before the official commencement time for screening not to talk of the examination proper. 

He said the supervisor at the centre, who is a lecturer of Islamic in one of the nation’s universities, addressed the issue by asking  affected candidates to get back their hijab and proceed for their screening after educating the official, who gave the misleading instruction. 

He said it was on record that she was one of the earliest to present herself for screening. 

The PCA said the incident had been thoroughly investigated by the board,adding that the candidate’s time was not affected in anyway. 

The statement reads in part: “The Board perceives examination as a reflection of a candidate’s performance especially where such a candidate was not deprived of any privilege or right. Therefore, the little drama associated with the entrance of Ms. Tiamiyu Ayisat Morenikeji into the examination venue has no effect on her time, space or anything related to her schedule as it happened within the time allotted to the biometric verification of candidates earmarked for a particular session and had, therefore, not even gained ingress into her final destination, the examination hall. 

“It is on record that the Board’s examination officials comprising the team centre officials, the supervisor, technical staff, biometric verification officer and other officials, acted promptly to address the situation and the candidate was allowed to undergo other necessary processes preparatory to taking her examination in good time.

“Part of the proactive measures taken was to immediately caution the overzealous centre official on the right way to go and the candidate subsequently asked to proceed for biometric screening prior to entering the holding hall to join her colleagues before the commencement of the examination, which she sat without any hindrance.

Read Also: UTME: JAMB officials under fire for asking candidate to remove hijab

“We urge all stakeholders, be it religious or civil society, to be circumspect with their requests, because the Board, as a national institution, does not pander to the whims and caprices of any group, creed or individual and will, therefore, continue to be fair and just in its dealings in line with its statutory duties. 

“It would be recalled that the Board has had cause to address such issues satisfactorily in the past and will, therefore, not shy away from doing the needful at all times. 

“We call for the support and understanding of individuals and groups to assist the Board in ensuring that no candidate, irrespective of his religious, social or ethnic status, is intimidated or denied his due rights even as we also urge the public to be conscious of the far-reaching implications of putting forward requests that should be situated firmly within the ambit of frivolity.”

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday it had sanctioned some of its accredited officials for asking a hijab-wearing female Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate to remove her head cover before she could sit for the examination.

The board said this in a statement in Abuja by its Public Communication Advisor (PCA), Dr. Fabian Benjamin.

The statement, which was in reaction to publications on some news platforms, titled: Re: Lagos Centre Stops Hijab-Wearing Candidate As UTME Commences, said the incident was instantly resolved with the female candidate being allowed to sit for the UTME with her hijab.

Read Also: UTME: JAMB sanctions officials for asking hijab-wearing candidate to remove headcover

The examination body also announced that about 1.2 million candidates would have successfully taken the UTME by today.

The statement reads: “The attention of the board was drawn to an unfortunate incident at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos, where it was reported by Muslim News of Sunday, April 21, 2024, and other platforms, that a candidate donning hijab was asked to remove her head cover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall.

“The board deeply regretted the incident and, on investigation, discovered that this particular incident or others in the past, is not linked to any of its examination guidelines but rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the board’s accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the board’s guidelines on accreditation, which ensures that all candidates are screened, allowing only female officials to screen female candidates before allowing them to gain entrance into the hall.”

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Sunday, April 21, sanctioned some of its accredited officials for asking a hijab-wearing female Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate to remove her headcover before she could sit for the examination. 

The board said this in a statement signed by its Public Communication Advisor (PCA), Fabian Benjamin, on Sunday. 

The statement, which was in reaction to publications on some news platforms titled ‘RE: LAGOS CENTRE STOPS HIJAB-WEARING CANDIDATES AS UTME COMMENCES,’ said the incident was instantly resolved with the female candidate being allowed to sit for the UTME with her hijab. 

While saying it has no policy barring candidates from sporting the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their religious persuasions, JAMB said the affected officials acted in ignorance, which is not an excuse before the law. 

The examination body also revealed that about 1.2 million candidates would have successfully taken the UTME by Monday, April 22, 2024.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Board was drawn to an unfortunate incident at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos, where it was reported by Muslim News of Sunday, 21st April, 2024, and other platforms, that a candidate donning hijab was asked to remove her headcover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall. 

“The Board deeply regretted the incident and, on investigation, discovered, that this particular incident, or others in the past, is not linked to any of its examination guidelines but rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the Board’s accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the Board’s guidelines on accreditation, which ensures that all candidates are screened, allowing only female officials to screen female candidates before allowing them to gain entrance into the hall. 

“This situation was instantly addressed by a senior official of the Board at the centre and the candidate in question allowed in after the usual checks with her hijab. 

“However, since ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the officials have been appropriately sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others, who might wish to toe the same line going forward. 

Read Also: UTME: JAMB calls for calm over technical glitches

“It is worthy of note that the Board, as a national institution, has no policy barring candidates from sporting the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their religious persuasions, as these are the facts of everyday life in Nigeria, which everyone should have been familiar with by now. 

“Furthermore, the Board assures the general public that this issue will be properly investigated, as it had done in past incidents, to prevent a recurrence, and nothing will be swept under the carpet. 

“The Board is committed to the discharge of its statutory role of ensuring that suitably-qualified candidates are selected for admission into the nation’s tertiary institutions and would not allow anything or anyone to detract it from the pursuit of this noble goal. 

“Meanwhile, the conduct of the 2024 UTME, which commenced on Friday, 19th April, 2024, had been seamless, as over 1.2 million candidates would have successfully taken the examination by Monday, 22nd April, 2024.”

• Candidates in affected centres to be rescheduled – Registrar

Candidates whose centres experienced glitches in the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination would be rescheduled, Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof Is-haq Oloyede has said.

The registrar appealed to the candidates to remain calm as they would be rescheduled to write the exam.

Oloyede, who made the appeal while fielding questions from newsmen after monitoring the exam in Kogo-Bwari, Abuja, said, so far, the UTME had been going on smoothly as only a centre had been reported to have encountered issues.

1, 985, 642 registered for the examination which commenced yesterday.

The UTME would end on April 25, 2024.

The results are expected to be released in the coming days.

Speaking with reporters, Oloyede said: “We appeal to the public to understand this, some centres will fail. I have heard of only one centre who has failed today.

“By the end of today, I expect about 10 per cent of the centres to have one problem or the other because we know the level of development in different parts of the country.

“We are not encouraging this but when it happens, please do not disrupt others.

Read Also: Tinubu appoints new Board for NAICOM

“It is important to note that when a session fails because of a problem, you cannot bring those candidates to do session two, they will have to step aside and the headquarters will have to be contacted.

“The earliest time they can be scheduled will be after 4:30 p.m. so that those slated for section two and three can write and these candidates can now write for session four and in some cases, they can even be scheduled for the following day.”

At Airmax Computer Institute, Madalla, Niger State, the examination went on smoothly.

A representative of the centre told our reporter that they were almost done with the 2nd session.

On the expectations from 2024 UTME, Oloyede said the exercise is expected to be seamless following introduction of new mechanisms into the exam system.

He said: “Today’s examination is very important to us because we have done so much engineering that we have been trying to do in the last seven years and we are only successful today for the first time.

“Those who are fraudsters, who are doing all sorts of things, they know they are in trouble because for the first time we are able to do certain things that we have been aspiring to do.

“We have found out that some of the candidates are giving their details to fraudsters and fortunately, we thank the security agencies as they have been marvellously good to us.

“Almost all the persons that have been doing this (fraudulent activities) are already in their nets. I won’t want to mention the numbers but I’m very happy to tell you that they are in the nets.

“We thank the Inspector-General of Police, director-general of the State Secret Service (SSS), director-general of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp, and the Nigerian Police Force National CyberCrime Centre (NPF-NCC).”

Oloyede, who commended the public, especially parents for their smooth conduct, said parents usually constituted problems for students in previous exercises.

Oloyede said the examination body was not comfortable with the award of scholarship to UTME best performing candidates on the basis of the exam alone as that would not capture other criteria that are factored in.

He said: “Yes, MTN and other people are giving scholarships to the highest scorers but we have always been discouraging them because you scored high in UTME doesn’t mean you are the best because some other factors will come in; the quality of your O’ Level will be added to it, Post-UTME scores will be added into it, if you are going to NDA, your physical exercise will be added to it before we can say this is the best, before we rank you. So, why ranking people prematurely?

Professor Is-haq Oloyede, Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that candidates affected by technical issues during the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination will be rescheduled.

The registrar appealed to the candidates to remain calm as they would be rescheduled to write the exam. 

Oloyede, who made the appeal while fielding questions from newsmen after monitoring the exam in Kogo-Bwari, Abuja, said so far the UTME had been going on smoothly as only one centre had been reported to have encountered issues.

1, 985, 642 registered for the examination which commenced on Friday. 

The UTME would end on April 25, 2024. 

The results are expected to be released in the coming days. 

Speaking with reporters, Oloyede said: “We appeal to the public to understand this, some centres will fail. I have heard of only one centre who has failed today.

“By the end of today, I expect about 10 per cent of the centres to have one problem or the other because we know the level of development in different parts of the country.

“We are not encouraging this but when it happens, please do not disrupt others.

“It is important to note that when a session fails because of a problem, you cannot bring those candidates to do session two, they will have to step aside and the headquarters will have to be contacted.

“The earliest time they can be scheduled will be after 4:30 p.m. so that those slated for section two and three can write and these candidates can now write for session four and in some cases, they can even be scheduled for the following day.”

At Airmax Computer Institute, Madalla, Niger State, the examination went on smoothly. 

A representative of the centre told our reporter that they were almost done with the 2nd session.

On the expectations from 2024 UTME, Oloyede said the exercise is expected to be seamless following introduction of new mechanisms into the exam system. 

He said: “Today’s examination is very important to us because we have done so much engineering that we have been trying to do in the last seven years and we are only successful today for the first time.

“Those who are fraudsters, who are doing all sorts of things, they know they are in trouble because for the first time we are able to do certain things that we have been aspiring to do.

“We have found out that some of the candidates are giving their details to fraudsters and fortunately, we thank the security agencies as they have been marvellously good to us.

“Almost all the persons that have been doing this (fraudulent activities) are already in their nets. I won’t want to mention the numbers but I’m very happy to tell you that they are in the nets.

“We thank the Inspector-General of Police, director-general of the State Secret Service (SSS), director-general of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corp, and the Nigerian Police Force National CyberCrime Centre (NPF-NCC).”

Oloyede, who commended the public, especially parents for their smooth conduct, said parents usually constituted problems for students in previous exercises.

He said: “Everything appears to be going well. We want to thank the public for heeding our advice because it appears everybody is doing what they are expected to do.

“Things will move smoothly if parents can keep away. They are the ones constituting problems for the students but you can see everything is going on well.”

Read Also: JAMB orders arrest of parents found at CBT centres

Oloyede said the examination body was not comfortable with the award of scholarship to UTME best performing candidates on the basis of the exam alone as that would not capture other criteria that are factored in.

He said: “Yes, MTN and other people are giving scholarships fo the highest (scorers) but we have always been discouraging them because you scored high in UTME doesn’t mean you are the best because some other factors will come in; the quality of your O’ Level will be added to it, Post-UTME scores will be added into it, if you are going to NDA, your physical exercise will be added to it before we can say this is the best, before we rank you. So why ranking people prematurely? 

“You will see somebody saying my son scored 330 and in addition to that he had 7 A1s, is he not qualified? He might be qualified when you are ranking people in your village, when it comes to Nigeria he may be 650 despite the so-called brilliance to you.”