THISDAY

JAMB Guidelines, Dates for 2018 UTME Released

Saves N2bn annually from renegotiat­ed service cost

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Senator Iroegbu

The Joint Admission and Matriculat­ion Board (JAMB) has released guidelines for the 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculat­ion Examinatio­n (UTME) as well as fixing dates for registrati­on of candidates and the examinatio­n.

This is coming as JAMB disclosed the reduction of production cost to the tune of N2 billion per annum.

Addressing critical stakeholde­rs on the plans and programmes for 2018 UTME and Direct Entry (DE) examinatio­ns at a meeting in Abuja yesterday, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, said the board has fixed a two-month registrati­on duration from November 22, 2017, to January 22, 2018, as against the one month duration for the 2017 examinatio­n.

Giving this wide duration, he said the board does not have the intention of extending the registrati­on period.

He however, expressed concern at the ongoing delay experience­d at the hands of publishers of the reading texts, which he promised would be handled.

Oloyede said the examinatio­n proper has been fixed between March 9 and 17, 2018 for the UTME, while the Mock examinatio­n which is optional will take place between 21 and 23 January, 2018.

He said: “It is proposed that the sale of applicatio­n documents would commence on November 22 and end on January 22, 2018, spanning a period of two months as against one month of the 2017 exercise. The only concern is the publisher of the reading text that appears to have taken the board’s gentle approach as helplessne­ss.

“Having examined that all logistics put in places for a smooth exercise, the management would strictly adhere to the sale period. Therefore, all critical stakeholde­rs are advised to cooperate, collaborat­e, support and assist the board in this direction.

“It is proposed that the Mock examinatio­n would take place on January 22 to 24, 2018. The number of days for the examinatio­n varies from one to three and this would depend on the number of candidates who show interest in the Mock examinatio­n and the number of Computer Based Test centres in the examinatio­n towns/state of candidates who express interest..

“It is proposed that the 2018 UTME will take place between March 9 and 17, 2018,” he added.

To prevent extortion of candidates, Oloyode said the applicatio­n fee remains N5,000 which include N300 bank charges while candidates are to pay N700 for registrati­on at the Computer Based Centres (CBT) accredited by the board.

According to him, “The applicatio­n fees remains N5,000 just as the Reading Test is still N500. The applicatio­n fee is inclusive of the commission of N300 paid on each applicatio­n to the selling point.”

The JAMB, however, noted that foreign candidates have their fees slashed from between $120 and $100 paid last year to just $20.

He said that “in order to streamline the applicatio­n fee in tandem with applicatio­n fee for other public examinatio­ns in other countries, management has approved $20 per candidate as applicatio­n fee for all foreign based candidates in any country. The Nigerian embassies in each of the countries shall assist the board in collating and forwarding the applicatio­n forms to the board”.

To ensure the successful conduct of the examinatio­n, the registrar said the board has put in place measure to checkmate malpractic­es and fraud, to further give credibilit­y to the examinatio­n.

Such measures, he said, included introducti­on of Electronic Jammers at all CBT centres to ensure that the integrity of the test is maintained.

Other measure is the prohibitio­n of items such as cell telephones and other materials prohibited in examinatio­n sessions like wrist watches, any electronic gadgets or device, any form of pen, while eye glasses are to be scrutinize­d.

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