By Felix Khanoba
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it will deploy new technology in the conduct of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, who made this known at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, called for understanding over the new development.
“The Board has instituted some measures which are to be deployed during the 2023 UTME exercise. Despite the fact that the innovations have been tested and certified, yet it is not unlikely that some hiccups might spring up when the new technology is deployed live and nationwide. We therefore solicit your support and understanding as we promptly address any unforeseen circumstances.
“One major feature of the new dispensation is that no examination would be allowed to take place after one hour of its scheduled start time because the Board has discovered that some of the problems reported at the centres are contrived to delay the commencement of a session in some centres with a view to securing undue advantage for the delayed candidates.
“Consequently, any session that, for whatever reason(s), could not take-off within one hour of its schedule is automatically rescheduled. When such occurs, affected candidates are expected to file out of the examination hall into the waiting hall and await the new scheduled time and place which most likely would be the same or following day.
“Candidates are expected not to disrupt subsequent sessions but to simply await information on reschedule. Parents have constituted major intrusion into the examination process. While we appeal for parents to keep-off the examination venues, we would not hesitate to sanction the candidates whose parents obstruct the smooth running of the centre.
“The reschedule does not permit a candidate who was initially marked absent during the screening to be part of the rescheduled session since the questions meant for such absentees have been withdrawn and not available for the rescheduled session,” Oloyede said.
Speaking further, the JAMB boss said the exam body has
has resumed 2023 Direct Entry (DE) registration, adding that the exercise would come to an end on 28th April, 2023.
While lamenting high level of forgery of A Level certificates use for the registration, Oloyede said the Board has introduced new guidelines to checkmate such act.
He said : “You will recall that the Board commenced the 2023 Direct Entry registration on Monday, 20th February, 2023, but had to immediately suspend it following the discovery of the plethora of devices and machinations to circumvent and compromise the standard of A ‘level qualifications required from DE candidates.
“Recall that recent joint operations of the Federal Ministry of Education and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on DE qualifications brought to light some of these unsavoury and nefarious activities.
” Bayero University, Kano (BUK) has also consistently brought to the fore the high rate of forgery of A’Level qualifications for DE.
For instance, it was discovered that, in previous years, some candidates used unacceptable and forged A’ level certificates/qualifications to register for Direct Entry and eventually got admitted. For example out 148 candidates verified by BUK, only 6 were found to be genuine. By implication 142 of the results were forged.
“The Board, concerned stakeholders and institutions are working assiduously to detect such and the ones already found, are being dealt with according to the provisions of the law.
” In order to further checkmate the anomaly and to also prevent recurrence of such irregularity, the Board has decided that the 2023 DE registrations will not only be restricted to JAMB (Professional Test Centres (PTCs) but will also be done under strict supervision.
“The Board has provided additional guidelines to all DE registration outlets (JAMB-owned centres), Officers of the Board and candidates on the 2023 Direct Entry registration exercise: –
” At the point of registration, all candidates must fill in:-
Registration/Matriculation Number of the previous school attended where the qualification was obtained; Subject(s) of qualification;
Awarding Institution; Institution actually attended.”
Oloyede said the Board would only accept 13 qualifications/certificates for the 2023 Direct Entry registration exercise, which include first degree, university diploma, Higher National Diploma (HND), Ordinary National Diploma /National Diploma (OND/ND) and Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE).
Others are Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) A’ Level,
Joint Universities Preliminary Examination Board (JUPEB) A’ Level,
NABTEB Advanced National Business Certificate (ANBC),
NABTEB Advanced National Technical Certificate (ANTC),
NABTEB GCE-A’ Level (2015 – 2021), Higher Islamic Studies Certificate (HIS) by NBAIS, International Baccalaureate (IBN) and the National Registered Nurse /National Registered Midwife (NRN/NRM).
The registrar said that the 127 candidates who had earlier registered for the 2023 DE before the exercise was suspended, would be requested to return to the registration centres and update their application.
The JAMB boss also revealed that the Data Bank put in place to address challenges associated with the A ’level qualifications
has now been renamed “Nigeria Post-secondary Education Data System (NIPEDS)”.
