The Nation Newspaper

Tag: JAMB

  • Civil Society Groups Tackle ASUU Over Stance On JAMB

    -Endorses reforms in JAMB

    The Joint Action Coalition of Civil Society Organization for Transparency in Governance  has endorsed the on-going reforms and innovations introduced by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to ease admission into the nation’s tertiary institutions, while also passing a vote of confidence on the leadership of the Board led by its Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede.

    The groups said the innovations will  deal with corruption in the educational sector and eradicate the problem of admission racketeering.

    Addressing a press conference on Sunday in Abuja, Executive Director/Convener of the coalition,

    Mr. Sabo Odeh condemned the recent attack on JAMB by ASUU, accusing the union of being allergic to reforms and innovations being introduced by JAMB under professor Oleyede

    Odeh who was reacting to recent call by ASUU calling for the scrapping of JAMB the coalition has become aware of recent ploy by ASUU to hijack the tertiary education sector by ruse.

    According to him the latest trick is via the instrumentality of calling for the scrapping of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). He the reforms introduced by JAMB into admission process in Nigeria appears to have taken many members of ASUU engaged in admission racketeering out of business and they are not happy.

    He said, “If ASUU is allowed to dictate how JAMB does it work, it is a matter of time before the lecturers set their sight on WAEC, Secondary and even primary schools.

    “The clamour by ASUU that each university should be allowed to handle its own admission processes is an open call to empower these admission syndicates operated by no other persons but ASUU members.

    Heeding ASUU’s ill-conceived call would send us back to the problems that JAMB was set up to solve.

    “In the years that preceded JAMB, it was common to see some candidates secure admission into as many as five universities which implies that four slots would we wasted as the student can only resume in one school while several other candidates are made to wait another year at home because these  slots have been wasted.”

    Odeh blamed ASSU for the decay in the education sector that the country is today grappling to remedy, saying the union has lost its moral compass and does not have the capacity to challenge the reforms being introduced by JAMB under professor Oleyede.

    He accused the union of frustrating interventions that would re-establish Nigerian university as centre of excellence where youths can pass through and favourably compete with their contemporaries from any other top flight institutions on earth.

    He however said Nigerians are now aware id their antics and will ensure that the progress made by JAMB under Prof Oleyede is sustained.

    He said, “ASUU, as it did in the 90s, is giving the impression that it is genuinely interested in the wellbeing of would be undergraduates.

    “We took time to study the situation with a view to ascertaining if ASUU’s intervention in the way JAMB conducts its major or mock examination is altruistic as they make it appear.

    “Sadly, all that can be surmised from ASUU’s interference in this process is that they have resumed their efforts to hijack the education sector for their own purposes. Note that we say education sector because they have gone beyond their remit as higher institution teachers to dabble into academic levels that are outside their jurisdiction.”

    He insisted that the reforms and innovations introduced by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) remains the best approach to ensure that only the best gets admitted into the nation’s tertiary institutions.

    He said, “The embrace of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), coupled with other policy direction has helped JAMB make changes that increased the admission chances of applicants.

    “It has for instance streamlined the options of schools that candidates have based on careful analysis of trends. This innovation is also responsible for the curtailing of the way ASUU members used to manipulate admissions while side-lining JAMB.”‎

  • ASUU’s mindless attacks on Oloyede led JAMB

    ASUU’s mindless attacks on Oloyede led JAMB

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has somehow managed to take time off churning out half-baked graduates as it savages the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) over reported failings in the mock test scheduled by the examination body. Its angst has nothing to do with the glitches that were caught in the test run of a new system being put in place by JAMB but rather has more to do with a long running animosity against the agency’s current leadership and a desperation to maintain a status quo that has not done the country’s tertiary education any good.

    The union’s chairman of the University of Ibadan chapter, Dr. Deji Omole, alternated between demanding the scrapping of JAMB and calling for the resignation of its Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede. In other moments of frothing rage, Omole asked the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu to call Oloyede to order.

    As if to remove any doubts as to the quality of teachers that Nigeria relies on to train our youths, the ASUU Chairman betrayed the deficit in the analytic skills of his likes and co-travellers by suggesting that JAMB was exploiting prospective  candidates when in actual fact the entire cost of the entrance examination is way below the amount that ASUU members charge for one set of printed substandard study material.

    Omole’s tirade also exposed and confirmed a fact that many Nigerians had expressed concerns about severally. It is the fact that our so called citadel of learning have nothing to show by way of innovation and ASUU’s kick against the digitization of the registration of students aspiring to be undergraduate clearly proves that its members would rather keep the entire country in the era of paper, ruler and thick back notebooks for registration, which is not only retrogressive but opens the pathway for manipulation and corruption.

    The anger against  the computerization of the entire process therefore apparently has more to do with anger about growing efficiency in tracking the number and performance of students that eventually get admitted as opposed to the past when schools and ASUU members conspired under different guise to scheme out those that pass the Unified Matriculation Examination (UMTE). Admissions were in that dark era usually based on some funny criteria that have no bearing on performance. In such instances, it was not unusual to hear of “(ASUU) chairman’s list” that was usually populated by persons that have parted with thousands of naira in bribe to their would be lecturers to secure admission.

    It is apparent that even as supposed academics and educationists, ASUU members caught up with news about the mock examination from the media. It is gratifying that members of this union still retained the capacity to read news and catch up with events in the real world as opposed to the utopic fantasies of perfection they have woven for themselves in the various citadel. The leadership of ASUU must have therefore also seen in the news how the police apprehended its members with firearms and how they are implicated in promoting cultism and campus gangs that have killed several undergraduates. They must read how their colleagues have graduated from cash for marks to salacious sex for marks. The news space and national discourse are replete with the harrowing experience of having to deal with the unemployable graduates that are being churned out while ASUU hunts for rats in a burning hut.

    If they as much as appreciate the national imperative of reforming our education system in a bottom-up approach, they will understand that the changes that Professor Oloyede is implementing in JAMB are in national interest. The mock examination, in case the lecturers’union has forgotten, is meant to build candidates’confidence ahead of the real deal – it was a system in place in the heydays before the current crop of jobbers messed up the tutelage process with intractable strikes that achieved nothing.

    We must as a nation free ourselves from the tyranny of vocal minorities like ASUU who raise dins each time they sense groundbreaking reform is afoot simply because they know such change would block the loopholes they exploit to game the system. Professor Oloyede must in the interest of the rest of us refuse to succumb to the blackmail of these charlatans that have made a career of holding the rest of us hostage.

     

    Agwu  is a public affairs commentator and contributed this piece from Lagos.

  • Re: JAMB 2017 and its many troubles

    SIR: The Nation of Friday, April 14 featured a letter with the above caption. It is never in our character to join issue with the public especially when we are deemed impactful.

    The Board believes that insightful observations and objective criticism constitute the best channels of getting feedbacks from the general public.

    However, we owe it a duty to correct misleading information in the public domain especially when such is intended to mischievously   generate and elicit negative reaction.

    First, let me make it abundantly clear that continuity is particularly treasured by the Board when it comes to designing policies.

    On assumption of duty, Prof Is-haq Oloyede insisted on improving on what his predecessors had done. The first assignment he did was to look at all that had been in place with the view   to improving on them to make them more efficient and effective. To achieve an inclusive result, a stakeholders’ meeting was convened, including all former registrars, directors of the Board as well as other critical partners with over 90 professors in attendance. At this inclusive meeting, members commended the efforts by the Board in restoring confidence in the examination conducted by the Board but called for concerted efforts to make the entire system comply with the world’s best standards. The need for a process that will mitigate the rising incidence of examination malpractices was accorded a special focus and management was urged to address it to eliminate challenges of invalid results that may emanate therefrom.

    In view of all these observations and concerns by Nigerians, the new Registrar put machineries in motion   to consolidate on the achievements of his predecessors and not to reverse whatever they have done.

    What are the reforms about? First, his predecessor had used scratch card to deploy most of the Board’s services to the public. Like every other system used over a period, the scratch card later manifested a lot of challenges associated with fraud leading to the Board losing hundreds of millions. The former Registrar was at the verge of jettisoning the card system before he left.  Indeed 12 members of staff were dismissed on the recommendation of the Dibu Ojerinde’s management on scratch cards/regularisation racketeering. The current Registrar has also handed a number of Senior Staff members to the law enforcement agencies on scratch card related infractions involving hundreds of millions.

    The card system was then replaced with pin vending thereby saving government billions. The Board, under Prof Oloyede, has since developed appropriate internal capacity and is today deploying services without cards. The millions being paid to service providers are now being saved for the nation.

    On the registration platform, we have also done a self-assessment and discovered that the difficulties candidates faced was basically due largely to insufficient compliance with published information on how to go about the registration.

    We had done a study of registration in the last three years and discovered that the Board had all been registering candidates within a period of one month even when the grace period varies between five to six months. In last year’s exercise for instance, we noticed that at the fifth month we had not done 30% of the expected candidates for the year’s exercise and about 70% expected candidates for the year registered in the sixth month.  Our findings also revealed that the more time you give the more likelihood of more extension, the facts are there as we had to extend even last year.

    Having resolved to register for a month we put in place a structure to ensure a seamless registration.  The Board opened over 6000 distribution points of registration across the nation. This was done through over 650 accredited centres in the country. In each of our over 650 centres we gave 100 registration points to enable the centres register 100 candidates simultaneously.  The Board also extended participation to all banks to vend the pins including Interswitch, Remita and NIPOST. With Interswitch and Remita you can buy at the comfort of your home. As at the last count 10 banks are participating.

    This is clearly an improvement on the registration platform as only three banks were selling before with the attendant challenges in previous years. Today, three weeks into the initial four weeks period the Board has registered over 1.3m candidates out of about 1.5m expected. The implication is that but for the extension, the remaining one week would have been sufficient for all to register.

    The process of profile creation and capturing of ten fingers is one of the best processes that are sure to curb a lot of unwholesome practices. This is intended to curb multiple registrations. We are mindful of the backlash but are prepared to do the needful.

    There is no policy somersault as all are only an improvement on existing processes. On awaiting result, we never banned awaiting result; it was only the imagination of those who refuse to understand the process and procedure for admissions. The tradition of the Board has always been all inclusive. There is virtually no policy or process being done in the Board that all the former Registrars and Directors are ignorant of.

     

    • Fabian Benjamin, PhD 

    Head, Public Relations, JAMB.

  • Regularise admission with JAMB, students told

    The Registrar of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida (BIDA POLY) in Niger State, Mallam Mohammed Baba Ndana, has appealed to graduating students to regularise their admissions with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    Ndana said the appeal was necessary to enable students who did not write Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) normalise their admissions with JAMB ahead of their graduation, saying the exercise would afford the polytechnic an opportunity for proper documentation. Any student who failed to do so before the final examination, the registrar said, would not be allowed to graduate.

    He stressed that the law setting up JAMB gave the body responsibility to conduct admission for tertiary institutions, adding that students who did not have their documents regularised with JAMB would not go for National Youth Service.

    He advised students to comply with the regularisation requirement, adding that the school would give them opportunity to comply before graduation.

    A Higher National Diploma (HND) II Mass Communication student, Comfort Waziri, said since the regularisation was mandatory for all students without JAMB admission, she said ND II students should take the advantage before using their diploma certificate for Direct Entry into the university.

    Mary Achogu, ND II Business Administration and Management student, said: “It is good the announcement came this period when we have enough time to do it. Many students may not want to go through the stress of applying for regularisation at the JAMB office. With the penalty for not doing it, students should do it on time to avoid unnecessary delay.”

  • JAMB 2017 and its many troubles

    JAMB 2017 and its many troubles

    SIR: How the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) degenerated to this level is difficult to know as, as at the last UTME of 2016, what you needed to register for JAMB was to buy a registration scratch card from JAMB-accredited sellers and walk into a nearby cybercafé to get your registration done. That ends it and you go for your exam. But since the appointment of Professor Ishaq Oloyede as registrar, the achievements of the previous JAMB management under the leadership of Professor Dibu Ojerinde have been thrown to the bin by the ineffective policies implemented by the new leadership of JAMB.

    Imagine that Ikorodu in Lagos State has just four registration centres for over 20,000 applicants while less than 1000 registration centers exist nationwide. In Benue State, some applicants staged a violent protest to express their displeasure about the stress they had to go through for their registration. In the process the JAMB office was destroyed. This abominable act should not have happened had JAMB made its registration hassle free.

    In an era where the world has become a global village due to the advent of the internet, it is hard to explain why JAMB decided to subject applicants and their parents to unnecessary stress in the bid to register their wards for the examination.

    The policy somersault currently going on in JAMB is a reflection of the sad state of our society. Continuity is never our watchword in Nigeria. We believe in implementing new policies with each administration in power due to our ego. As a result, we keep doing merry-go-round with no end in sight to our challenges. The management of JAMB should get its acts together and do the right thing and make the process easier than it used to be.

    The former process created job for millions of cybercafé owners in the country and contributed positively to economic growth. This new process will lead to job loss by the cybercafé owners and monopolizing of the process by the few JAMB contractors which will further increase the poverty level in an economy currently experiencing recession.

     

    • Adesina Tosin Nathaniel,

    Lagos.

  • How ready is JAMB for UTME?

    How ready is JAMB for UTME?

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) last Saturday postponed indefinitely its inaugural Mock Unified/Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), incurring applicants’ ire, and raising doubts about its preparedness for the main Computer Based Test (CBT) next month,  ADEGUNLE OLUGBAMILA, MEDINAT KANABE and JANE CHIJIOKE, who monitored the exercise at some JAMB accredited centres in Lagos, capture the drama and candidates’ frustration.

    Days  before the test, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had promised that nothing would go wrong. It also warned that it would not extend the duration for applying for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) online. The mock examination slated for last Saturday, it added, would hold as scheduled. Applicants were agitated as they hurried to beat the April 8 deadline for the test.

    Last Saturday, many arrived at their centres as early as 5:30am for the test that was expected to start at as early as 7.30am. But when JAMB postponed the test until further notice due to some “unforeseen circumstances” they lost their enthusiasm. Is the postponement the sign of things to come? Some asked.

    The postponement appeared to be the second blow JAMB was dealing candidates. The first was the epileptic network that left many candidates stranded at registration centres as they were unable to generate their Personal Identification Number (PIN).

    Over the last two weeks, stakeholders have been calling on JAMB to extend the April 30 deadline for the examination’s “rigorous registration process”. Unimpressed with what happened last Saturday, stakeholders rebuked JAMB for what they describe as its “shoddy preparations”.

    Our reporters, who went round last Saturday witnessed a lot of drama. Anxious candidates and managers of Computer Based Test (CBT) centres exchanged words.

    “I arrived at 15 minutes past 6am, hoping that I would have done the examination and gone back to my place of business by 9am, but here I am,” a candidate told our reporter at the EKO College Management Technology, one of the centres in Ikotun, Lagos.

     The Nation reporter, who arrived at the venue early, saw the centre’s officials pacing back and forth, obviously confused. Shortly after, one of them, who introduced himself as the centre’s facilitator, urged candidates to log on JAMB’s website to print a slip that would enable them access the examination hall.

    The candidates protested that they already had the slip. By then, the second batch of candidates had arrived. Yet, the officials who seems unprepared were still carrying chairs into the hall. This was around 10am.

    Candidates were, however, happy with the repeated assurance by different officials that the examination would begin soonest.

    “How come he is just telling us to go and print this slip by 9.30am when the second batch of candidates should have started? It is good that the examination will finally begin,” another candidate said.

    The Nation then approached one of the officials, who said the problem was actually from JAMB, adding that he had no idea when the examination would start.

    “The problem is the network. We have been trying it since, but we could not get it. I don’t even know when they will write the examination today. This is the problem we have in Nigeria; nothing is done well. I am disappointed. If the server comes up later they will write the examination.

    He continued:  “It is not our fault. We have been waiting for  the JAMB official attached to this centre since morning and we cannot start the examination without him or her. ”

    The candidates, who were also unsure of the cause of the delay, began to show their anger. While some repeatedly cursed, others simply shrugged and vowed not to use the centre for their UTME.

    “JAMB should hear this so that they don’t bring innocent children here to write examination. A message should be sent out to them,” said an angry candidate.

    Another candidate, who simply identified herself as Esther, an asthmatic patient, said she got to the centre by 7am, but by midday she had become uncomfortable with the dust raised by scrambling candidates.

    “I am feeling really weak now,” Esther said, adding:

    “My condition is very severe. I do not usually get the opportunity to fight before I pass out so, I think I will be leaving this place.”

    Esther recalled how she forfeited her admission in Edo State University on health ground. “That is why I chose UNILAG (University of Lagos) this year, but with the stress that JAMB is putting me through, I don’t know if I can make it anymore. I am tired of waiting I hope it will not be like this on the day of examination,” she added.

    The scenario was not different at the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI),  in Cappa, Lagos. “The network is just so bad!” One of the candidates said. “The JAMB site is not opening to print out photo card. It (system) keeps saying ‘reprint’. Many of us here are faced with this challenge. At the end of it all, we did not write the examination.

    “This is annoying. I came all the way from Satellite Town and have been here since 6am. If JAMB is not prepared for the mock why put us in such pains?”

    When will Nigeria get it right?” another candidate interjected.

    “Since the introduction of CBT we are still faced with network failure, malfunctioning of computers and all that. Is this a sign that JAMB exam will experience hitches at the detriment of the students?”  I wrote last year and encountered system failures and now I am about to write another one. I just pray the systems work perfectly well this time because I need to be in school,” the candidate added.

    Another candidate Chizoba Daniels, said: “This is unfair,” adding:

    “Since I started JAMB registration, it has been stressful, coupled with this mock exam. I got the text from JAMB late last night (Friday). I had to run to a cafe to print out the photo card, but I couldn’t until this afternoon (Saturday). I didn’t even take breakfast.  Now all that effort is a waste.”

    Feranmi Oloruntoba though upset by her experience, was fair in assessing the examination body.

    “The introduction of mock exam is a good idea, but JAMB must carry everybody along. There are many who are yet to register for the UTME and also love to partake in the mock exam. So, I suggest the mock examination should be done after the expiration of the registration so that every interested candidate can partake,” she said.

    A parent, Mr Cornelius Okomi, who saw his daughter off to the centre, blamed JAMB for using “innocent children” as mere scapegoats.

    “All I can see is that JAMB wants to test run their systems; but the children are the one suffering it.  It is a big mess. How do you keep children, who have not even taken breakfast here because you just want to test run your systems?  I hope all these are addressed before the main exam commences. Some of us here had plans for today, but had to cancel them to support our children,” Okomi said.

    Another parent, Mr Dicken Banjo advocated manual exam in rural areas.

    He said: “Imagine some people in rural areas where there is no power, or Internet; yet you are making CBT mandatory. This has incurred more cost on them because they have to travel all the way to the city to register or get Internet service. Now imagine what they might have gone through just to partake in this mock and look at how it all ended.

    “Nigeria has not gotten enough equipment to make CBT mandatory. We have not gotten there yet. A lot needs to be put in place. If in the urban areas we are still complaining of no network, what then becomes of the villages?”

    At the Connexion centre in Iyana Ishashi on the Lagos-Badagry expressway the story was the same.

    Two candidates Demola Olasunkanmi and David Osime, suggested that JAMB should return to the pencil and papers examination, hinging their argument on the undeveloped Information communication technology (ICT) in Nigeria.

    Said Osime: “I still suggest we continue the use of pen and paper until we get it right. You take your time to prepare for an examination only for computers to start misbehaving. It’s now obvious some of the computers will end up marking rubbish and that is what JAMB will present to you as your score.

    “We, Nigerians are good in ideas, but we cannot back it up efficiently and effectively to realise the goal.”

    “The mock procedure is just too hectic,”Olasunkanmi noted:

    He continued: “You have to wait for JAMB to send you a text, then you print it out before you can write the exam. It is not convenient at all because of network failure that will delay the process.”

    Mr  Steven Johnson, who came to the centre with his ward, scored JAMB low. “This is just an indication that CBT cannot work in Nigeria. Just ordinary mock exam, and JAMB made its incompetence embarrassingly obvious to the world.  What tangible reason can they give for this? Even if they feel they want to test their computer, is there no other way to do that than this?

    “JAMB should be reminded that our eyes are on them to see how this year’s exam will eventually turn out. We are tired of seeing our children come back home bitter due to system failures, delays and other inadequacies,” Johnson said.

    The mock examination, which  is optional, was meant to familiarise prospective candidates on the modalities of the exam via the CBT.

    Postponing the test, JAMB, in a statement, at the weekend, said the tests running has opened its eye to lapses in the forthcoming examination. JAMB also announced the extension of the registration to May 5, while the UTME will begin on May 13 and end on May 20.

    “The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board wishes to apologise to candidates and other stakeholders. We could not go on with the Mock Examination and hereby announce extension of registration exercise of the 2017 UTME. Instead of the earlier announced April 19, the deadline for the sale of forms and registration will now extend to Friday, May 5, 2017. Consequently, the 2017 UTME has also been postponed to start on Saturday, May 13 – 20, 2017. “Meanwhile, the Mock Examination earlier slated for Saturday, April 8, 2017 has been put on hold. This is because the appropriate rehearsal and test-running of the new system has been substantially achieved,” JAMB said.

     

  • College of Fisheries matriculates 182 students

    The Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology (FCFMT) Lagos, on Wednesday matriculated 182 students admitted for various programme in the 2016/2017 academic session.

    Prof. Ambrose Voh, the Acting Executive Secretary, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) said that the event marked the formal admission of candidates as bonafide students of the college.

    Voh said that those matriculated earned admission on merit, considering the various strict processes they went through.

    He charged the students to take their academic pursuit seriously, as that was their primary assignment in the college.

    According to him, proverbially, the students’ names, hitherto written in pencil, will be written in indelible ink, as full members of the college.

    “It is your level of commitment to your academic work that will determine the degree of your performance in all your examinations.

    “I, therefore, urge you not to allow any extraneous or peer group influence to distract your attention from your academic work.

    “Say NO to cultism, as it is an avenue to self-destruction. Avoid examination malpractice, drug abuse, illicit sex and other vices capable of hampering you from graduating.

    “It is an established fact that it is not everyone that matriculated that ends up graduating. Always remember that your admission is a privilege, which should not be abused,” he said.

    The acting executive secretary urged the students to act as examples for others through their conduct, in love, faith and purity.

    He said that the college remained the foremost and only institution in Nigeria, mandated to run maritime and fisheries technology programmes at higher level.

    Voh said that the college had strategically carved a niche for the students; hence, they should exploit it to the fullest.

    He said that graduates of the college were expected to play leading roles in the maritime (fishing, aqua culture and transport) industry.

    The Provost of FCFMT, Capt. Abiodun Sule, said that the students were lucky to have scaled through JAMB admission processes, as only 30 per cent of applicants to the college were admitted.

    Sule charged the students to learn, imbibe and develop positive attitudes, knowledge and skills that would propel them in the challenging world of the 21st Century.

    He said that the strong team of lecturers, managers, counselors and administrators would guide the students into fulfilling their noble dreams in the institution.

    According to him, the college has a set of rules and regulations which should guide students’ conduct on campus.

    “You are expected to obey the rules; violations will attract very stiff penalties, as the college has in place a Disciplinary Committee in charge on violation of rules and regulations,” he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FCFMT was established in 1969 to cater for the high demand of top indigenous professionals in the areas of Fisheries and Marine Technology.

    It assumed its present status of a full-fledged Marine Technological Institution in 1992.

     

  • JAMB extends registration by two weeks

    JAMB extends registration by two weeks

    · Postpones mock examination

    The Joint Admissions and MatriculationS Board yesterday announced extension of registration for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by two weeks.

    The extension covers April 19 – 5th May.

    The examination body also announced suspension of the conduct of its mock examination scheduled to hold yesterday in some selected centres across the country indefinitely.

    JAMB registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, told reporters in Abuja the postponement of the UTME mock exam was due to failure from its technical partners.

    He also announced shift in the conduct of UTME scheduled to begin on 6th May. The exercise, according to him, will commence on 13th – 20th May.

    “The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board wishes to apologise to candidates and other stakeholders.

    “We could not go on with the mock examination and hereby announce extension of registration exercise of the 2017 UTME.

    “Instead of the earlier announced April 19, the deadline for the sale of forms and registration will now extend to Friday, May 5, 2017.

    “Consequently, the 2017 UTME has also been postponed to start on Saturday, May 13-20, 2017,” Oloyede said.

    Justifying the action, the JAMB boss said:  “The postponement of the UTME mock examination was due to failure from our technical partners.

    “Yesterday (Friday) we told you people that if there was need for extension, we would do that.

    “Today (Saturday), we put the system on trial and discovered that there were certain failures from our technical partners.”

    Oloyede said the mock examination remained free for candidates willing to sit for it, adding the agency would pay the fees due to owners of computer based centres (CBT) to allow candidates write the examination.

    “The mock examination earlier slated for Saturday, April 8, 2017 has been put on hold.

    “This is because the appropriate rehearsal and test-running of the new stem has been substantially achieved.

    “The plan was to trial-test the readiness of our facilities and address challenges that may likely confront the main examination.

    “At this moment, we have realised that the plan to hold this mock examination was good for us.

    “We are now in a better position to achieve better than we would have done without this trial testing. This is why the exercise is at no cost to candidates.

    “The blessing that will trail the suspension of this mock examination and extension of registration deadline will manifest in our main UTME by next month,” he said.

  • UTME: JAMB cancels mock test

    UTME: JAMB cancels mock test

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has postponed the mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), scheduled to take place on Saturday April 8.

    The examination, which was scheduled to hold in some selected accredited centres across the country was shifted at the last minute, thus infuriating the candidates.

    The mock examination, which is not compulsory, was designed to acquaint prospective candidates on the demands of the examination and its processes, using the Computer Based Testing (CBT) mode.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), who went out to monitor the examination in parts of Lagos, reports that candidates reported to their respective centres as early as 5.00 a.m.

    At one of the centres in Ikeja, candidates waited patiently till about 2.00 p.m. for the examination to start.

    NAN reports that when an official of JAMB at the centre was approached, to know why the examination was delayed, he said that he was experiencing network problems.

    “Not long after that, the official, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that information reaching him said that the examination had been postponed nationwide,’’ the officer said.

    He added that the postponement was due to “some unforeseen circumstances’’ and that a new date would be communicated to the prospective candidates.

    The official, however said that JAMB regretted the development and pleaded for understanding.

    The information was later communicated to the candidates, who expressed disappointment as they left the venue.

    One of the candidates told NAN that he hoped JAMB would avoid the hitch during the examination proper.

    “Imagine what just happened; we have been waiting here as early as 6.00 a.m. only for us to be informed that the examination will no longer hold.

    “I feel disappointed even though it is a trial examination, but at the same time, it is an eye opener for the organisers to be on their toes, get it right before May 6,’’ the candidate said.

    Another candidate, Samuel Joel, called on JAMB to do the needful in order to allay the fears that the development might have raised.

    Joel said that the country had come a long way to be having such challenges.

    “I do not really know the main reason for the postponement of the mock examination, but I just think that somewhere somehow, things did not just turn out fine.

    “I am not happy going home now without doing the examination after waiting for about eight hours.

    “Whatever it is that was responsible for the problem should be tackled as quickly as possible to regain our confidence ,’’ he pleaded.

  • JAMB: The 2017 UTME brouhaha

    JAMB: The 2017 UTME brouhaha

    Monologue

    The world is dynamic. It moves with time and in space. And people who are inclined to civilization and dynamism move progressively with it. The only thing that is permanent in this world is CHANGE. Unfortunately, that is the word that most Nigerians do not want to hear of even when no man or woman can survive without change.

    Whether in terms of weather, taste or fashion, man has always been an agent of change. Yet, most people are resistant to the process of change. This is typically characteristic of Nigerians who regularly enjoy the benefit of change but constantly abhor its process.

    Without change, there would not have been anything called Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Without change, there would not have been Permanent Voters Card (PVC) that has now come to give respite to Nigerian voting system. Without change, the Treasury Single Account (TSA) that is now a major means of curbing corruption in Nigeria would not have come into existence.

     

    The new innovation in JAMB

    When the current JAMB Registrar,  Professor Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede, OFR, FNLA, assumed office in August 2016, he did not only indicate by his utterances, actions and body language, that further change might be pursued for the betterment of JAMB, he also embarked on series of consultations with people who know to solidify the new innovations. Besides, he has organized series of seminars, workshops, conferences and retreats with many stakeholders from all parts of Nigeria including some past executives of JAMB in attendance.

    The latest of those retreats were the ones held in Abeokuta and Kaduna recently. At those retreats, participants were classified into groups with each group deliberating on a particular segment of the new innovation and coming up with a relevant resolution collectively arrived at.

    Below is the opening remark of the JAMB Registrar at the Kaduna retreat held at Arewa House on Wednesday, March 29, 2017 and titled: ‘Strategic Planning Retreat on Monitoring and Supervision of 2017 UTME.

     

    Preamble

    “…..On behalf of the Management and staff of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, I happily welcome participants to this Strategic Planning Retreat on the Structure of Supervision and Evaluation of the Conduct of the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    When we sent out invitation to you and gave you a very short notice, we were skeptical on your finding time out of your tight schedules to honour our invitation. However, this large turnout has further confirmed our identification and choice of you as critical stakeholders with genuine and undiluted interest in this Nation’s education sector in general and in its assessment and evaluation sub-sector in particular where the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board plays a major role. I therefore thank you and appreciate your presence here today.

     

    In retrospect

    On my assumption of office as the fifth Registrar of the Board, I pledged to revisit and revamp the original ideals of those who thought it most appropriate to have a body like this Board and to pursue with vigour and passion their original objectives. I therefore salute the vision of the Vice-Chancellors of the then six (6) Universities who introduced the idea of synergy of their mandate in the areas of entrance examination and admission into the few universities that the Nation had. If synergy, peer review, cost saving, elimination of wastages, collaboration, cooperation and enhancement of academic excellence were identified and recognised then with only six Universities, these salient attributes, ideas and ideals are now more than ever before the basic of all requirements that are most critical for the integration and cohesion of the Nation’s Tertiary Education.

    Though a lot of water has passed under the bridge between 1977 and today, the idea of inclusiveness is still as germane today as it was many years back. This is why between August 2016 when I assumed duties and this month, March, 2017, a period of eight months, I have visited various Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, where I met with the Managements of the various institutions in order to renew and restrengthen our relationship and partnership. The Management of the Board has also met with the Committee of Vice-Chancellors, Committee of Rectors and Committee of Provosts. We have equally met with the Managements of National Universities Commission (NUC) and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). We have taken the Board’s major events and activities to the Bayero University, Kano, Baze University, Abuja, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri, University of Lagos, and others.

     

    Supervision and evaluation

    It is therefore in our stride and continuation at bringing all stakeholders on board our inclusive train that we have organiZed this retreat to take another look at the Board’s supervision and evaluation of its conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    The aim of this retreat is to adopt an all-inclusive mode of examination supervision and evaluation. Recognising the stakeholding of major players in the Tertiary Education Sector, the Board wishes to give operational responsibilities to the major players in the administration of the Board’s examination. It is not enough for Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) to visit examination centres with sirens and large entourage of government functionaries with very little impact to show for their participation, other than to be under television camera lights and beamed same to the whole world when the outcome of the examination is laced with stories of examination malpractices. This time around, the major players with requisite integrity, intelligence and appropriate knowledge of the assessment would be fully engaged to actively participate in the supervision of the examination.

     

    Sale of application documents

    As part of our approach to the ideal of Inclusiveness, we invited all Central Bank of Nigeria approved commercial banks to participate in the sale of the 2017 Board’s Application Documents. Sixteen (16) commercial banks and NIPOST honoured attended the interactive session where we explained the reason and need for all of them to partake in the exercise.

    After the interactive session, thirteen banks as well as NIPOST signified interest to participate in the sale of the 2017 Application Documents. Between the date of commencement of sale on Monday, 20th and Tuesday, 28th of March, 2017, the following nine banks had paid for the number of Application Documents they required in the first instance. The banks are as follows:

    Zenith Bank; Union Bank; Sterling Bank Unity Bank; First City Monument Bank; Fidelity Bank; First Bank; Skye Bank and

    As a policy, no bank needed to know the Registrar or any Management member or even anybody at all to be patronized. Rather, every bank was given the opportunity to participate in the exercise. This is to affirm that JAMB is for everybody and belongs to everyone.

     

    The Pin Vending System

    Emerging from a retreat in Abeokuta, the Board introduced a new sale of application method that has come to eliminate scratch cards while adopting a cost-saving procedure of PIN Vending System. This is a secure system devised to address the sharp practices hitherto associated with the use of scratch cards.

     

    Problem of New Salr Format

    We are aware of the teething problems attendant to the introduction of the new sale format, and as a responsive body, we have taken steps to ease the initial challenges and in a few days, the results will be a seamless registration exercise all over the country.

     

    Supervision of UTME

    It must be noted that the JAMB has no university of its own. Thus, it is our desire that all stakeholders should take the UTME as their own and make it a successful project through cooperation in the overall interest of the examinees who will end up in our various tertiary institutions and eventually emerge as leaders of tomorrow.

    The current preparation being carried out by JAMB towards the conduct of the 2017 UTM examination should be viewed with good intention and trust because if that examination is not well supervised, it may not produce the expected results.

     

    A clarion call

    The Board is using this retreat as a clarion call on all stakeholders to ensure that all hands are on deck to make the conduct of this public examination better in Nigeria. It must be remembered that the conduct of the examination by the Board is the foundation of the quality of education in Nigeria. In view of this, I urge all the stakeholders to see this year’s UTME and their involvement in its process as a call to national duty and personal sacrifice.

    I also urge leadership of our tertiary institutions to be actively involved in the supervision of the Board’s examination as that will boost the quality of candidates that will be admitted into the various institutions in the country.

    Computer Key Board Without Mouse From the general feedback on the adoption of the Computer Based Test (CBT), we have noted the challenge of computer low level literacy of some candidates, especially the phobia of such candidates for the use of mouse. This has been partly responsible for the call by some people for reversal to the Paper and Pencil Test mode. Thus, in order to ensure equity and level playground for all candidates the Board has designed a system that will allow candidates to use only eight (8) keys without the use of the mouse.

    By this new system, all that the candidates need to do is to press letters A,B,C,D as relevant for responses (answer) to the questions. The keys are arranged as follows:

    P = Previous Question

    N = Next Question

    S = Submit after candidates might have finished answering all the questions.

    R = Reverse (when candidates want to reverse their submission).

     

    Distribution of candidates to centres

    As part of standardisation of the Computer Based Test (CBT) centres in terms of capacity, two hundred and fifty (250), candidates would be distributed evenly to each centre without any discrimination. This means that no Centre will be favoured or discriminated against.

    The JAMB examination Schedule has been designed, streamlined and synchronized in such a way that the examination will start and end on the same day, except otherwise dictated by the number of candidates in a few states with low subscription.

     

    The Blind Candidates

    In order to expand the frontiers of equity and inclusiveness, we met with the Executive Committee of the Association of Blind Persons in Nigeria  at the Board’s Headquarters in Abuja in February 2017 and we also met with prospective blind candidates from a school for the blind in Lagos at the University of Lagos recently.

     

    Visually-Impaired Candidates

    Secondly, the Board has also approached the Digital Bridge Institute to partner with it to set up examination centres for the Visually Impaired Candidates where those candidates can be trained all year round. Now, the Institute has agreed to set up these dedicated centres in Abuja, Lagos and Kano in 2018 and the Board will support the centres with all necessary inputs that can make teaching, learning and assessment at the centres seamless. The centres will also have residential accommodation for the blind candidates and their guides.

     

    Awaiting result

    For the umpteenth time, I would want to seize this opportunity to emphasise that awaiting result candidates are eligible to register and sit for the UTME.

    However, since candidates would not be considered for admission on awaiting result status the Board hereby urges all candidates desirous of admission to upload their O’ level results on the Board’s portal the moment they receive them and before the commencement of admission exercise as their O’ level results would form a crucial part of their registration requirements.

     

    Determination

    We are determined to make a change with this examination as we are aware of the strategic role our examination plays in deciding the direction of tertiary education in Nigeria. We appeal to all Nigerians to give us the required support.

    The guiding principle would be to formulate ideas and map out strategies that would ensure the maintenance and sustenance of the integrity of the Board’s examination and the sanctity of its process.

    Thank you all and God bless”.