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Tag: JAMB

  • JAMB to start 2019 UTME registration Jan. 10

    THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will open registration for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on January 10, 2019.

    JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede said at a stakeholders meeting with CBT Centre operators and others at the University of Lagos yesterday that the sale of e-PIN for the examination would last for six weeks.

    He, however, did not give the actual examination dates.

    Oloyede had initially announced January 3 as beginning date for the sale of forms but changed it to January 10, 2018 following appeal by the CBT operators for more time to complete their online network test.

    The centres were only given seven days from yesterday to complete the test that would ensure their computers were in shape and could communicate with the JAMB control room in Abuja.

    However, it was extended after the CBT operators appealed for more time.

    Oloyede said the registration for the examination would be done only by 718 accredited CBT centres spread across the country, adding that cyber cafes had been barred from registering candidates for the examination because of sharp practices.

    Oloyede warned the CBT centres against sharp practices so they do not suffer the fate of 50 CBT centres struck off JAMB’s list last year.

    “Some of them have been prosecuted – up to five. Some of them used technology to extend the place of registration off site… such that on the day of examination, the candidates could not write the examination.  They were doing that for so many reasons, including having access to our private network.  A number of them have been arrested; they have been interviewed. They are one way or the other associated with a centre in Igarra in Edo State.  I have even sent messages to their traditional ruler to speak with them.  We are appealing to elders to make sure they talk to their youths,” he said.

    Oloyede said CBT centres should guard their JAMB-issued SIM cards, access codes and other confidential documents relating to the board carefully as the transfer of such items to the wrong hands could mean losing their accreditation.

    He also said the board had banned the sale of anything related to JAMB (like past questions) to the candidates to check extortion.

    The JAMB registrar gave the list of approved charges for all the services they may render to candidates from registration to the point of admission.

    The former University of Ilorin Vice-Chancellor explained that JAMB recorded revenue because of judicious management of resources, adding that adoption of technology would make the whole process of examination, assessment and dissemination of result even cheaper.

    “We are now moving to improve the services at the centres, particularly the CBT centres across the country.  They are in shambles.  And we want to pay attention to the facilities to the state.  We want to provide incentives for our staff.  We believe that some of them are forced by necessity to do unethical things.  We believe if we improve their welfare, we will have more legitimate ground to sanction those who do what they are not supposed to do,” he said.

    Oloyede said a number of features had been introduced to ensure candidates, not the CBT centres, had greater control over their bio-details that they shared with the board for the registration.

    The JAMB Registrar thanked the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) for carrying the board along regarding the election time table.

    Also speaking, chairman, Governing Council of JAMB, Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe, said the council was in support of the reforms introduced by Oloyede.  He expressed hope that JAMB would return to how it operated at the beginning where admission letters were sent to students at home without them needing to influence their admissions.

    “While I was at the USSR studying Medicine, my mother wrote me that I got an admission letter from JAMB to study Medicine at Nsukka.  It is my vision, it is my own desire, it is my dream to have JAMB return to what it was that time when nobody knew me. I did not know anybody but JAMB delivered my letter to my home in the village,” he said.

     

     

  • JAMB commences 2019 UTME registration Jan 10

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will open registration for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on January 10, 2019.

    The JAMB Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede said at a stakeholders meeting with CBT Centre operators and others at the University of Lagos on Thursday the sale of e-PIN for the examination would last for six weeks.

    He however did not give the actual examination dates.

    Oloyede had initially announced January 3 as commencement date for the sale of forms but changed it to January 10, 2018 following appeals by CBT operators for more time to complete their online network test.

    He said the registration for the examination would be done only by 718 accredited CBT centres spread across the country.

    He warned them against sharp practices so they do not suffer the fate of 50 CBT centres struck off JAMB’s list last year.

    Oloyede said CBT centres should guard their JAMB-issued SIM cards, access codes and other confidential documents relating to the board carefully as the transfer of such items to the wrong hands could mean losing their accreditation.

    He also gave the list of approved charges for all the services they may render to candidates from registration to the point of admission.

    The former vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin explained JAMB recorded revenue increase because of judicious management of resources.

    He added adoption of technology would make the whole process of examination, assessment and dissemination of result even cheaper.

    Chairman Governing Council of JAMB, Dr Emmanuel Ndukwe, said the Council was in support of the reforms introduced by Oloyede.

    He expressed hope that JAMB would return to how it operated at the beginning where admission letters were sent to students at home without them needing to influence their admissions.

    “While I was at the USSR studying Medicine, my mother wrote me that I got an admission letter from JAMB to study Medicine at Nsukka.

    “It is my vision, it is my own desire, it is my dream to have JAMB return to what it was that time when nobody knew me, I did not know anybody but JAMB delivered my letter to my home in the village,” he said.

     

  • JAMB, NECO ‘ve shown that anti-graft war is working, say CSOs

    THE activities of the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board have shown that the anti-graft war of President Muhammadu Buhari is working, a coalition of civil society organisations, under the umbrella of Concerned Civil Society Groups for Educational Development, said yesterday.

    The CSOs said the successes recorded by the two government agencies in blocking financial wastage at NECO and JAMB had dispelled such doubts.

    Co-convener of the group, Danesi Momoh, in a statement in Abuja, said the anti-corruption stance of the two examination bodies has led to remittances of several billions of naira into the Federal Government coffers.

    He hailed NECO, Acting Registrar Mr. Abubakar Gana, for blocking the loopholes through which the agency’s funds were looted in the past.

    Momoh said the NECO registrar has made procurement processes more transparent with significant reduction in procurement costs, thereby liberating more funds for the agency.

    He said: “If there was any flicker of doubt about the fight against corruption by the Buhari-led administration, the twin successes recorded in crushing corruption and financial wastage at NECO and JAMB dispels such doubts.

    “Surely, the government is out to ease the plight of Nigerians and these model cases show us how the war against corruption can have a positive direct bearing on all citizens.”

    He hailed the Federal Government for reducing NECO and JAMB fees, adding that the gesture would make higher education attractive for the common man.

    Momoh said the feat was made possible because of the prudent steps taken by Minister of Education Adamu Adamu that has ensured transparency and good management of resources of government agencies under the Ministry of Education.

  • JAMB: Lest we forget

    Apologists of the old order at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) are at it again, shuttling between the laughable to the ridiculous and ludicrous in presenting their own narrative of what is nationally recognised as Is-haq Oloyede’s miracle in the examination body.

    Specifically, if one may recap, within the first year of assumption of office, Professor Oloyede’s JAMB paid an unprecedented sum of N7.8billion into the federation account. His ’eminent’ predecessors had only struggled to remit a paltry N3million to N15million yearly to government. Speaking at the Policy Meeting of Tertiary Education Stakeholders at the Nigerian Judicial Institute, Abuja, shortly after the first lodgment of N5 billion by JAMB, the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu, said the amount was 400 times more than the agency had ever generated in its 40-year history.

    The payment shocked all and sundry, surpassing the wildest dreams of both the government and all watchers of the industry. Both the Minister of Education and his then  counterpart in the finance ministry, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had hitherto set what they considered a target of N500 million, which was even optimistic and ambitious, judged by previous records.

    So far, over N15 billion has been paid into the federation account by JAMB. Already, Oloyede’s positive impact in the sector has resulted into almost 37 percent reduction of examination fees, from N5,000 to N3,500.

    Outside JAMB, Oloyede’s worthy example has led to the payment of almost N2 billion into the federation account by the National Education Council, NECO. The federal government has also reduced the NECO fees by 10 percent, from N11,500 to N9,850 all these to some however is no big deal.

    Quite unfortunately, a few Nigerians continue to dismiss Oloyede’s huge payments into the government purse as a product of the commercialisation of the examination body, and the resulting exploitation of hapless candidates. Some cite the payment of N1,500 for the changing of courses within an institution and N2,500 for change of institution as evidence of such charges that had boosted the revenue of the examination body.

    One must appreciate the effort of such critics whose sudden wake up from slumber must be appreciated in this new era, when JAMB, as a government agency, is returning generated funds into the federation account. But where were these critics in the years preceding this era, when JAMB was operating virtually at a loss due to non-remission of generated funds into the federation account even after charging the same fees? A little investigation into the past by them would have revealed to them that those amounts complained of were the same under Oloyede’s predecessors, yet they had contributed virtually nothing to the federation account. The new JAMB management has not increased the hitherto charged fees by a dime.

    In their indefensible mission, some of these critics even went to the extent of attempting to use a section of Nigerian students to articulate their cause. As it turned out, their evil intention was to frustrate a courageous effort by the Oloyede management to tackle another cankerworm in the nation’s tertiary education system, the late admission (regularisation) system. It is a system whereby a number of Nigerian institutions admit large numbers of unqualified and ineligible candidates through the backdoor. They are then presented at the end of their programmes for regularisation even when majority of these candidates are yet to address the defects in their entry qualifications, including the fundamental pre-requisite of credit in English and Mathematics. This system has been frowned at by the current JAMB management and concerted efforts have been made to stop it henceforth.

    Granted that Oloyede has been able to turn the fortunes of the agency around; returning over N7.8 billion into the national purse within the first year of his resumption, shall remain a big puzzle for students of public administration and public finance for a long time to come.

    No wonder, in quick response to the development, the federal government quickly set up an inquiry into the management of the agency by Oloyede’s eminent predecessors.

    Any honest observer would however recall that it was through the sanitisation of the entire JAMB system which came with Oloyede that it became possible for candidates to purchase the JAMB forms at the official rate of N5,000. Before his coming, getting the forms at that price was the exception rather than the rule, as hording of scratch cards was the order of events.

    One of the far-reaching measures taken by Oloyede was the scrapping of the scratch cards system for the purchase of JAMB admission forms. The scratch cards system had allowed unscrupulous officials and their collaborators to rob the agency of billions of Naira through duplication of cards and misappropriation of revenues. Above all, it facilitated a system where individuals or groups warehoused large quantities of forms which were then hoarded to create artificial scarcity, thereby pushing the cost up in multiple times.

    Oloyede opened up and democratised the procurement system to ensure direct access of candidates to JAMB forms. Instead of just one or two banks, multi-channels approach involving virtually all Nigerian banks and CBT centres and the use of POS was adopted.

    To stem the exploitation of candidates by owners of business centres, JAMB evolved a system whereby candidates can use their GSM numbers to create their profiles.

    Oloyede has also waged an unprecedented and very successful war against the massive exploitation of candidates by CBT centres, the so-called ‘miracle centres’ and tutorial operators, who had engaged in mindless exploitation of candidates in the past. For instance, in place of the approved N5,000, candidates obtained  forms at ‘miracle centres’ at N20,000. The so-called ‘VIP Candidates’ paid up to N200,000 to CBT centres just to allow someone in to assist the candidates to take the examinations.

    Judged by all standards, what has happened in JAMB in the past two years is a great joy and inspiration to all patriots and progressive-minded people that our country can still boast of men of immense competence and profound integrity.

    Any opinion contrary to this, is preposterous, a criminal justification and collaboration with the rot of the past.

    The choice before us therefore is between competence and incompetence; between open, transparent, and all-inclusive management and bad governance. Between visionary and transformational leadership and avaricious and corrupt leadership.

    Contrary to the opinion of the self-seeking advocates of hapless candidates, the Oloyede-led JAMB management has contributed more to the greatest good of candidates than anyone before them. Their all-time star performance, which must be celebrated by all lovers of the country, is central to the drastic reduction in the examination fees, almost 40 percent reduction in JAMB and 10 percent by NECO.

    The significant reduction in the cost of JAMB examinations and other measures he has adopted so far show that Oloyede is on the right side of history. This must be a source of concern for his self-appointed critics.

  • Mixed reactions trail FG’s reduction of JAMB, NECO fees

    Mixed reactions have trailed the Federal Government’s review of fees for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Senior Secondary Certificate Examination(SSCE) and Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE).

    Some stakeholders, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday, commended the gesture and urged the government to overhaul the education sector.

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the downward review of the examination registration fees which will take effect from January 2019.

    The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu who announced the reduction after the FEC’s meeting said ‎Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) fees for UTME had been reduced from N5,000 to N3,500.

    Adamu said government also reduced the SSCE fees charged by the National Examinations Council (NECO) from N11,350 to N9,850 while the Basic School Certificate Examination (BSCE) by NECO was reduced from N5,500 to N4,000.

    An entrepreneur, Mr Sunday Ukachukwu, described the action as a `good step’ in the right direction.

    “I give the Federal government credit for the downward review, but I think they can still do better because the reduction is not so significant.

    “If they reviewed the fees by 50 per cent, the reduction would have been significant, but what you have is 13 per cent reduction,’’ he said.

    A Public Affairs Analyst, Mr Ben Ekiyi, commended the Federal Government for the reduction saying that it would ensure inclusiveness among other things.

    “ ‎It is a good thing because any reduction in prices of goods or services always makes the masses happy, especially in these times where many people are facing a lot of hardship. ‎

    “I feel this reduction will ensure inclusiveness as more students will now be able to write these examinations.

    Read Also: Fed Govt okays reduction in cost of JAMB, NECO forms

    “Since more students will now be able to write the examinations, hidden potentials will be exposed, because we have some intelligent students who have not been able to afford the examination fees,’’ he said.

    A parent, ‎Mrs Lelo Apena, said the reduction of fees was a diversion from the real issues plaguing the education sector, such as poor quality of education, dilapidated infrastructure and out- of- school children.

    According to her, this kind of reduction does not make any sense; N1,500 difference will not solve the problems bedeviling the education in Nigeria.

    ‎“ I tell you, reduction in these fees is a kind of diversion from the real issue; has the government thought of reducing tuition fees so that those who are qualified will be enrolled and do not drop out for lack of fees.

    “Our tertiary institutions always on strike; is it the reduction of JAMB fees and NECO that will solve the poor quality of students and lecturer impact?

    “Are the out-of -school children and their parents and guardians being helped to ensure their children are enrolled in school and not drop out before completion for various reasons?‎’’ she queried.

    Apena was of the opinion that states government should take over the payment of JAMB and NECO fees for poor students in their communities‎.
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    A retiree, Ms Ruseh Okaro, who also spoke to reporters , said the reduction was a welcome development, however, she said ‎ the quality of education was still a major cause of concern.
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    “ It is a welcome development but I do not think the fees should have been as high as that in the first place, given the importance of education to the wellbeing of a nation.
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    “ I also hope this reduction is sustainable and a holistic approach was used to arrive at these new fees”.
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    ‎A parent, Mr Shittu Ahmed, said the reduction was commendable, however, government should look into other areas of the sector such as dilapidated infrastructure and lack of learning materials.
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    A public servant,Mrs Folakemi Aina, said the reduction in the fees was long overdue and wondered why government was coming out with a lot of policies now that elections were drawing closer.

  • Fed Govt okays reduction in cost of JAMB, NECO forms

    THE Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday reduced the examination registration fees for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Senior Secondary and Basic Education Certificate.

    Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu stated this at the end of the FEC meeting.

    He said the JAMB fee for the UTME will reduce from N5,000 to N3,500, the Senior Secondary School fee charge by NECO will be reduced from N11,350 to N9,850 and the Basic Education certificate by NECO will reduce from N5,500 to N4,000.

    According to him, the new charges would become effective from January, 2019.

    Noting that most of the past high examination fees were unnecessary, he said they were siphoned into private pockets.

    He noted that the agency is not a revenue generating agency and its focus should not be to generate money.

    “In response to the yearnings by parents, the President (Muhammadu Buhari) directed the ministry to look into it,” the minister said.

    Adamu added that the reduced fees have nothing to do with the forthcoming general elections.

    But, JAMB said it reduced its UTME registration fees because it wanted to alleviate the burden of the cost of the examination on parents.

    JAMB’s Head of Media, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, in a statement in Abuja yesterday, said the reduction has been approved by Buhari.

    The statement said Buhari was concerned about the burden of the registration fees on the plight of ordinary Nigerians.

    The statement reads: “In Mr. President’s determination to alleviate poverty and ensure that every Nigerian desirous of tertiary education is not deprived, government had introduced policies and incentive to boost the economy of ordinary Nigerians and has seen this reduction as a platform to bring more Nigerians on the tertiary education template.

    “The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board had in less than two years shown commitment to the avowed direction of the President Buhari-led administration by returning over 15 billion.

    “Government had deliberated extensively on how to ensure that every Nigerian benefitted from the prudent management of resources in JAMB and came up with the fee reduction.”

  • JAMB: Robbing poor candidates to pay rich FG

    SIR: Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede, has been receiving accolades from various quarters lately. The reason is that he has remitted about N9 billion to the covers of the federal government from the money made in the course of its activities during the ongoing 2018/2019 admission exercise into tertiary institutions. Commendable as this may appear, considering the fact that, as reported in the papers, only a paltry sum of N300million is being expected from the board, nobody has ever bothered to ask a pertinent question, which is: How did the board raise so much money that after deducting all expenses, and making allowance for some other exigencies, the board was still able to dash (!) the federal government a princely sum of N9 billion?

    The answer, of course, is that the money came from no other source than the sweats of desperate candidates and their hapless parents and guardians, which is quite unfortunate.

    JAMB, under the present dispensation has so much commercialized its activities that there is nothing candidates can do on the board’s website without paying through their noses. Apart from the N5,000 initial payment for the board’s form, which qualifies a candidate to sit for the matriculation examination, other post-examination activities attract astronomical fees, which in my view could have been done at much less cost. For instance, to change from one institution to another attracts over N2,500 per candidate for each transaction, while changing from one course of study to another attracts another N2,500 or even more. To print a single-page admission letter on JAMB website attracts N1,000. Other activities attract similar astronomical charges. All these activities are not frivolous but necessary for a large number of candidates. Those who could not be considered for institutions and or courses of their first choice have no choice than to do change of institution or course as the case may be which in my view, the board uses to rip off desperate candidates. Little wonder the registrar gleefully tells whoever cares to listen that he remits billions of naira to the government at the expense and detriment of candidates and their parents every admission year.

    I think there is the urgent need for people of good conscience to appeal to the registrar to put a stop to what one can refer to as day-light robbery, as these activities could be done at much less cost to candidates. These reductions should even start from the cost of buying the application form and should cut across all activities of the board. If need be, the National Assembly may have to wade into the matter and take another look at the law that established the board to rescue candidates from the stranglehold of the board. This has to be done fast, most probably, before the commencement of the admission exercise for 2019/2020 early next year. This robbing of Nigerian youths seeking admission into institutions of higher learning to pay the super-rich federal government by JAMB should stop forth-with in the name of all that is good and noble.

     

    • OluwoleAkinjayeju, olujayeju@yahoo.com

  • JAMB conducts recruitment exams for FRSC candidates

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said yesterday it had conducted recruitment examination for about 15,000 candidates of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) across the country.

    The Registrar of the board, Prof. Ishak Oloyede, told reporters that the exercise took place at the board’s Computer Based Test (CBT) centres across the country and had so far been reported successful, except for a centre in Taraba.

    “There has been no problem; all centres are doing well but at a centre in Taraba, some of their computers malfunctioned but we have ordered an immediate relocation of the candidates to another centre,” he said.

    Oloyede reiterated the board’s readiness to deliver a transparent system for all forms of examinations conducted through the CBT system of the board.

    Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, FRSC Corps Marshal, said in July that the corps would recruit additional 4,650 officers and procure new operational vehicles to improve road safety management in the country.

    According to him, the corps will employ the best in road safety management in the second part of the year.

    According to a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who visited one of the centres at Bwari Abuja, two alleged imposters were apprehended by security agents at the centre while trying to access the examination with same printout which had the same seat number.

    One of them, Apeh Baba, who spoke to newsmen after being apprehended, said he mistakenly picked his friend’s photocopy of the examination printout from home and decided to attempt to use it.

    He, however, begged to be forgiven for the illicit act, while awaiting to be handed over to the police for further action.

     

  • ‘JAMB won’t bow to pressure to reduce cost of forms’

    The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloeye, has said the board will not be pressured to reduce the cost of selling admission forms.

    It currently sells its forms for N5.500.

    Prof. Oloyede attributed the call to reduce the price of its forms to the transparency of JAMB to return unspent money to the Federal Government.

    He addressed reporters in Abuja after inspecting a new software installed by the board to conduct promotional examinations for its workers.

    The registrar said the board will only reduce the cost of selling its forms when the Federal Government gives such directive.

    He said: “Why are they not asking WAEC, NECO and NBTE to reduce the cost of their forms? Why JAMB? We charge the least and you are saying we should reduce. You must ask those people why they are asking that question. They are asking that question because we have been transparent with them; to say the money we are collecting we have this balance.

    “If we want to reduce, we will reduce on our own terms because we are not under any pressure to reduce.

    “Tell me any country in the world that is charging as low as we charge for admission. We are charging the least. Which means the issue is not about what we charge.

    “The issue is because we now have a means of managing the resources properly that you have surplus and because we are open enough to return the surplus to the government. That is why they are calling for reduction. What will be the basis of crashing the cost?

    “If the government feels we should adjust, it will tell us and we will adjust not as a result of unqualified, baseless request.”

    The registrar said over 2,000 of its workers took the promotional examination.

    He said the new software, which was installed at N6 million, would be used to conduct professional examination for organisations or agencies, who needed the services of the board.

     

     

     

  • ‘JAMB will not be pressured to reduce cost of forms’

    The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board ( JAMB ), Prof. Is-haq Oloeye, has said the board will not be pressured to reduce the cost of selling its admission forms.

    The board currently sells its forms for N5.500 to candidates seeking admission.

    Prof. Oloyede attributed the call to reduce the price of its forms to the transparency of JAMB to return unspent money to the Federal Government.

    He spoke to reporters after inspecting a new software installed by the board to conduct promotional examinations for its staff on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The registrar said the board will only reduce the cost of selling its forms only when the federal government gives such directive.

    Prof. Oloyede said: “Why are they not asking waec, Neco, nbte to reduce? Why Jamb? We charge the least and you are saying we should reduce. You must ask those people why they are asking that question. They are asking that question simply because we have been transparent with them, to say the money we are collecting we have this balance.

    “If we want to reduce we will reduce on our own terms because we are not under any pressure to reduce.

    “Tell me any country in the world that is charging as low as we charge for its admission. We are charging the least. Which means the issue is not about what we charge.

    “The issue is because we now have a means of managing the resources properly that you have surplus and because we are open enough to return the surplus to government that is why they are calling for reduction. What will be the basis of crashing the cost?

    “If the government feels we should adjust it government will tell us and we will adjust not as a result of unqualified, baseless request.”

    The registrar said over 2,000 of its staff took the promotional examination.

    He said the new software, which was installed at N6 million, would be used to conduct professional examination for organisations or agencies who need the services of the board.