JAMB Promises Smooth Conduct of UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it will ensure a smooth and successful conduct of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The board’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dr Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Bwari.

He said that as of April 13, over 1.2 million have successfully written the examination scheduled to end in April 17.

NAN reported that over 1.8 million candidates are expected to sit for the board’s UTME that commenced nationwide on April 11.

Benjamin said the process of the examination has so far been successful, adding that the board was addressing some of the challenges that came up during the exercise.

He also said that the board was still investigating those who were unable to be verified through its biometric process and would come out with a stand on the matter.

Speaking also on the issue of results, Benjamin said that no results have been released yet.

He explained that the board was still screening the results as the examination was ongoing and also because more fraudulent activities were being identified in the process.

He said: “We have to keep screening these results because there are lots of issues we discovered like multiple registrations, impersonation and the likes, so we are still fishing them out.

“Some have been arrested and those yet to be arrested, we have their records, we will fish then out. However, candidates should expect their results very soon.”

He added that the board’s suspension of some Computer Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide has not affected the candidates.

Benjamin explained that adequate examination centres was provided to all who registered for the examination.

The board in its weekly Bulletin of the Office of the Registrar for April 15 said that it uncovered and arrested ‘Professional Examination Writers’ who writes examination for candidates for a fee.

According to the bulletin, 50 of such fraudulent persons were apprehended in centres across the country as a result of various intelligence gathering.

The bulletin also said that the board suspended 49 CBT centres from participating in the ongoing exercise.

The centres, which are spread across the country, were suspended for failing to live up to expectations in ensuring a seamless examination.

Thirty of the exam centres were suspended during the start of the exam on April 11, while the other 19 were blacklisted during the registration’s exercise; 10 of the centres are located in the FCT. (NAN)