The registration of candidates by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board(JAMB) for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations(UTME) will commence on Thursday, January 10, nationwide.
A total of 718 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres have been accredited for the purpose across the country.
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof Isha’q Oloyede, disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos, at a stakeholders’ meeting with the owners and managers of accredited CBT centres from across Nigeria.
He said the biometric exercise(which is cashless and strictly online and not offline) would last only six weeks and that candidates should not patronise cybercafe as they are not eligible for registration.
He said the cost of registration remains N3,500 per candidate and no longer N5,500 in line with the federal government’s directive and that CBT centres must adhere strictly to the fee charged and other rules guiding their involvement in the exercise.
While disclosing that CBT centres are also free to charge a maximum of N500 per willing candidate for mock exam ahead of yet-to-be-fixed UTME date, Prof Oloyede, a former Vice-Chancellor of University of Ilorin, said JAMB would not accept the excuse of loss of SIM Card from any of them.
According to him, SIM Card and access code for candidates’ registration are customised for each exam centre and not replaceable under whatever guise.
Revealing that a total of 50 CBT centres which involved in sharp practices last year were sanctioned with more than five of them are now being prosecuted, warning all those participating this year to steer clear of sharp practices.
On malpractice, he said JAMB had devised new mechanisms to forestall the practice.
He said each centre must have to test all its computer systems, power supply and every other thing to ensure they are in order and the process would last seven days beginning from Thursday, December 20.
According to him, no student can do multiple registrations without JAMB detected and each centre must also make use of toilet their facilities and not outside.
The registrar said the essence of all these was to continue to conduct credible UTME in the country.