JAMB suspends nine CBT centres over infractions, registers 869,709 candidates

By Chika Onyesi

 

About 869,709 candidates have so far been registered for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, scheduled to take place in March.

This is according to data obtained from the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board, detailing registration activities between 10th to 25^th of January 2019.

According to the data, Lagos State has the highest number of registered candidates at 111,102 while Zamfara States trails behind with about 2,427 registered candidates.

The exam body has attributed the seamless 2019 UTME registration process to technological innovations introduced by the board.

The latest innovation according to JAMB allows candidates create their profiles by themselves using their mobile devices, thereby reducing wait time, spelling errors and crowds at registration centres.

Meanwhile, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board have shut down the University of Benin, ICT Computer Based Test centre and nine other centers over unwholesome activities in the registration process. 

According to its weekly bulletin, the exam board said the 10 suspended CBT centres had breached stipulated guidelines for the registration of candidates.

“Before commencing the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) registration exercise, the Board had convened a meeting of all CBT operators in Lagos, where the guidelines on the exercise was deliberated and laid out for all to adhere to strictly’’ JAMB  says.

Some of the centres were indicted for charging higher than the stipulated amounts agreed at the meeting with operators and as directed by government.

Others were also faulted for violating the directive to sell the 2019 e-pins at N3, 500, excluding the cost of text reading, some had also flouted the N700 registration fee as agreed in the meeting.

While its searchlight is still beamed on some centres suspected of registrations infractions, the exam body said its monitoring teams spread all over the country will continue to monitor the on-going exercise, to ensure that Nigerians are not misled by unpatriotic operators.