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BREAKING: Senate considers limiting age of UTME candidates
The Senate Committee on Basic Education has said it will pursue the amendment of the law establishing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to enable it limit the age of candidates writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, to 16 years and above.
Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Akon Eyakenyi gave the indication during the committee’s oversight visit to JAMB.
According to him, the committee had identified two major areas to be addressed in the proposed amendment for the exam body to function better.
Eyakenyi said “Our own work is that of making laws, to legislate; we have identified two major areas that we need to go into the process of amending the act establishing JAMB. That’s the area of support we will give.
“Other than that, we also intend to pass on what we have seen today to the appropriate MDAs, the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure the support that JAMB needs is given to them.”
Details shortly…
July 13, 2021
BREAKING: JAMB releases 2021 UTME results
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of candidates who sat in more than 720 CBT centres for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination conducted between July 19 and July 22.
Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB Spokesperson made this known in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Friday.
Benjamin advised each candidate to check the result by sending UTMERESULT to 55019 through the GSM number used by each candidate to obtain profile code and UTME registration with the board.
He said that their results would be relayed to them immediately after following the instructions given to check results.
He added that the results for subsequent days would however be released daily.
“The Board notes with satisfaction that the utilisation of NIN (National Identification Number) has helped in curbing examination malpractices as the 2021 UTME has recorded the least incidence of irregularities since the inception of the CBT examinations.
“ Nevertheless, the Board would still review all the CCTV footages and other technical gadgets for detection of possible examination misconducts.
“Extremely comparatively few results are being withheld for further investigation,” he said.
He said that the Board would not hesitate to withdraw the results of any candidate subsequently found to have committed any form of examination misconduct.
June 25, 2021
Senate Asks FG to Suspend NIN Requirement for UTME
The Senate has asked the federal government to suspend the National Identification Number (NIN) requirement for students seeking to take the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The upper legislative chamber passed the resolution after the senator representing Anambra South, Senator Ifeanyi Uba, sponsored a motion on the matter.
The Senate also asked the Ministry of Education and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to establish a decentralised process where students can easily obtain their NIN.
While moving the motion yesterday, Uba said students should be able to obtain the NIN at their schools.
The motion was adopted after Senate President Ahmad Lawan put it to a voice vote.
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had said all students must provide their NIN at the point of registration.
“This is mandatory for participation in the 2021 registration exercise,” Fabian Benjamin, JAMB spokesman, had said.
May 19, 2021
Senate demands review of NIN requirement for UTME candidates
The Senate has urged the Federal Ministry of Education, Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to immediately review the implementation of the policy which makes it compulsory for UTME candidates to provide their National Identity Numbers (NIN) during registration.
The review, according to the upper chamber, should accommodate extending the JAMB registration deadline or suspending the NIN requirement until there is a seamless and well organized process for obtaining the national identity number.
This was one out of two resolutions reached, following a motion considered to that effect on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday.
Coming under Order 42 and 52 of the Senate Rules, sponsor of the motion, Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP, Anambra South) bemoaned the frustrations faced by young Nigerians as a result of the policy introduced by JAMB making it compulsory for candidates to provide the National Identity Number (NIN) during UTME registration.
Describing the requirement as “inconsiderate and premature”, the lawmaker observed that the policy infringes on the rights of young Nigerians to education.
According to him, the requirement locks out majority of candidates from registering for the exams over their failure to meet with the required age that makes it possible for them to obtain the National Identification Number.
“Mr. President, I am constrained to call the attention of this hallowed chamber to the widespread hardship young, promising and cerebral Nigerians are currently facing as a result of the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) to include the National Identification Number (NIN) as a precondition for registration of UTME candidates in 2021.
“This action is an inconsiderate and premature decision that has further complicated the already rigorous process of both registering for JAMB examination and procuring the NIN.
“It is pertinent to call the attention of this chamber to the fact that JAMB initially attempted to start the implementation of this policy in 2020, but had to postpone it owing to technical problems and irregularities bedeviling the process of obtaining NIN from the National Identity Management Company (NIMC).
“From all indications, these technical hitches are yet to be addressed; the long queues at NIMC centers are a testimony to the fact that a well organized process is yet to be put in place to ease the stressful process of registration.
“Available statistics indicate that in 2020, more than two million candidates registered for JAMB examination.
“Presently, the introduction of NIN threatens to significantly lower the number of registered candidates in 2021 because majority of these candidates are just attaining the age when they can obtain the NIN.
“This is a brazen infringement on the right to education of young Nigerians who may not be able to meet the deadline to obtain their NIN and register for JAMB.
“Mr. President, you would agree with me on the fact this idea, even though innovative in nature should be suspended until the conditions for obtaining NIN improves tremendously.
“The board (JAMB) already has enough logistical and technical problems to tackle. Adding more complications is counter productive and will only serve as a hindrance to young Nigerians desirous of getting into higher institutions to further their education.”
Accordingly, the Senate mandated the Federal Ministry of Education, JAMB and NIMC to review the implementation of the policy with a view to extending the JAMB registration deadline or suspending this requirement until there is a seamless and well organized process for obtaining the national identity number.
It also urged the Federal Ministry of Education and NIMC to introduce or streamline a simple and decentralised NIN registration process where students would be able to obtain their NIN in their various accredited school premises.
May 18, 2021
UTME candidates to be refunded for unsuccessful registration – JAMB
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has promised to refund monies paid by candidates who were unable to generate profile codes due to poor network or delayed response from telecommunication service providers
The exam body, however, warned that the refund will not apply to wrong registrations, in the case of candidates who entered wrong codes while trying to generate their profiles.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, who disclosed this on Monday said the decision was arrived at after consultations with stakeholders.
He explained that service providers have also agreed to the refund decision.
Oloyede, who said the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Nigerian Communications Commission have been drafted in to monitor the refund, lamented that parents were being extorted by telecoms service providers.
He said: “All those concerned will have to go back and ensure that when a service is not fully rendered and if there had been any charge that had been made this should be refunded to the candidates.
“We have reached this agreement with Digital Pulse that we will work with the service providers to make sure that the service providers refund where they have taken money from candidates.”
The registrar also disclosed that by Friday, candidates will have the option of using the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data to generate their profile code.
April 27, 2021
JAMB scraps use of email for UTME, direct entry registration
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced that the use of email would no longer be required for the processing of registration for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry.
The Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, said this while speaking with journalists on Tuesday evening.
According to him, email would only be requested at the successful completion of the registration exercise by candidates to access information on the examination.
He said, “As from Thursday, April 15, 2021, candidates will no longer be required to provide any email address during registration.
“Consequently, candidates will have the following options to access their profile during or after registration.
“i. Mobile APP on the candidates’ phone
ii. On the 55019 option (being designed) for example admission status checking, acceptance of admission etc on their profile.
“Printing of examination slip (Notification) or Result notification slip or ticketing can be done anywhere using the candidates JAMB registration number only.
“At the conclusion of the 2021 UTME/DE registration exercise, candidates will provide their email addresses only after the 2021 UTME/DE registration exercise has been declared closed by JAMB through (a) Mobile APP on his/her registered phone
Sending the word email (space then the email address) on his /her registered phone to 55019.
“The email is typed twice for correctness (Email addresses will be entered twice for validation and prevention of typographical errors.”
Oloyede said the new system was to ensure candidates’ information are not exposed to dubious cyber cafe operators and other criminal elements who in the course of UTME/ Direct Entry registration steal email passwords to perpetrate fraud.
He said an individual’s mobile phone now remains the only major tool to carry out all the registration processes.
The JAMB CEO said the organization has phased out the use of cash for any transactions in the Computer-Based Test centres owned by JAMB but Automated Teller Machine cards.
He said the move was to frustrate the antics of touts who hang around JAMB CBT centres as well as prevent illegal charges.
Oloyede said candidates who are only keen on using cash can visit privately owned centres for their registration and other activities.
Earlier, a final year student of the University of Abuja, Adegoke Justina, exposed how she was lured to hand over her email details to a cyber cafe staff, who posed as JAMB staff.
Adegoke had visited the JAMB CBT centre in the Kogo-Bwari area of Abuja, to rectify issues with her admission when she was accosted by a young man who promised to help do necessary applications, only for him to be issuing threats and demanding money days later after taking over the student’s email address.
Moses Peter, the cyber cafe operator, nabbed by police over the incident, however, identified the perpetrator of the crime as David Ahmad, a student of Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, who sometimes works in the cafe.
April 14, 2021
Low UTME cut-off mark for admission into universities is making northern youths lazy – Governor El-Rufai
Governor Nasir El-Rufai has averred that the low cut-off marks needed for admission into northern universities via the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) is making northern youths ‘lazy’.
The Kaduna state Governor who said this during the plenary session on “Rethinking Sub-National Competitiveness” at the ongoing Nigerian Economic Summit, stated that even though many think JAMB is building the nation with different cut-off mark for different states, they are however dividing it.
El-Rufai also rhetorically asked if the North has caught up with people from other regions even though JAMB is giving them lower cut-off marks.
He said;
“The northerners are at advantage. The low JAMB cut-off mark is making northern youth lazy rather than encouraging them. Despite the advantage of the education in Nigeria, we have the highest number of children out of school.
“For example, Joint Admissions Matriculation Board, (JAMB), gives different cut-off mark for different states and you say you are building a nation, no you are dividing it.
“I am from the north but we have suffered educational disadvantage and the JAMB has given us lower cut-off mark to catch up, have we caught up?
“It is making people lazy.”
On selecting leaders based on their ‘origin’, El-Rufai said;
“This has become a big problem for Nigeria. Zoning in political parties cannot solve the economic problems we are facing. Selecting the best person to get the job done will benefit everyone.
“The best we can do is to give everyone equal opportunity.”
The Kaduna state Governor also called for the federal police and judiciary to be reformed to improve their effectiveness.
He added;
“Implement state policing. Some governors have more influence on the police than others; state governors cannot control security actions except there is an order from the IGP. This makes state governors handicapped in serious matters.
“Same is applied to the judiciary system. We are the only country in the world that is running a federal judiciary system. This has exposed the sector to inefficiency. There are decisions for states to take for example, land issues, traditional issues.”
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November 25, 2020
UTME: Institutions to begin first, second choice admissions Aug 21
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has directed all tertiary institutions to begin the conduct of the first and second choice admissions from August 21.
The board gave the directive in the 2020 admission guidelines released in Abuja by the board Spokesperson, Dr Benjamin Fabian.
Dr Fabian, in the guidelines, warned institutions against duplication of forms, adding that they should desist from selling forms for admissions into some listed programmes.
He urged institutions to advise candidates to apply for the programmes through its office, saying that all admission exercise must be conducted on the Central Admission Processing System.
“All applications for admissions to First Degree, National Diploma, National Innovation Diploma and the Nigeria Certificate in Education into full-time, distance learning, part-time, outreach, sandwich, etc, must be processed only through JAMB.
”Institutions that desire to place advertisement can do so by advising candidates who applied for the current Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination to change to their institution as first choice rather than requesting the candidates to purchase another application form or apply.
”This is to prevent the issue of double registration which is a violation of the JAMB mandate,” he said. (NAN)
July 20, 2020