The Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, has indicated that no fewer than 1.94 million candidates are expected to sit for the 2024 examinations in the country.
Oloyede said this while inspecting Computer Based Test (CBT) centres in the state amidst the ongoing JAMB examinations.
He stated that by the completion of the exam today, there would be fewer than 100,000 candidates left in Lagos, Benue, and other states throughout the country.
Oloyede explained that the velocity at which JAMB vetted candidates and collected biometrics, accelerated the exercise. He stated that this was part of JAMB’s re-engineering process to ensure a smooth exercise.
Recommended reading: JAMB to refund registration fees paid by visually-impaired UTME candidates
What he said
According to him,
- “Even today, I have seen something which we need to improve on, but most importantly, we have done so many things in the background to make the exercise faster, more efficient and better. We have increased the level of automation,” he said.
The Registrar also frowned at exam cheats, remarking, that it is a futile effort.
He disclosed that impersonation was the root cause of the majority of JAMB’s troubles and specifically stated that the majority of the cases involved applicants having duplicate National Identification Numbers (NINs), and that JAMB would raise the issue with the National Identity Management Commission.
- “The important thing is that we are ahead of the impersonators, we have arrested a father writing examinations for his son, the kind of parenting in this generation is uncalled for, I wonder what the father will tell the son if they are locked up in the same cell.
- “We now have the facilities to check all sorts of impersonation and other malpractices.
- “There is no report this year of parents intruding, except one state. In that state, they felt since the first session failed, their children should not continue with the second or other sessions.
- “Out of the country’s 775 centres, those who failed were not up to 20, and only one failed. Less than 30 of the centres failed at the first session because of ill preparation.
- “When such things happen, the candidates should stay aside for the next session to move because questions are designed individually for a candidate,” he said.
