‘Election won’t affect 2019 UTME’

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof.
Ishaq Oloyede has said that the 2019 general election would not affect the 2019/2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation examinations (UTME).
Oloyede stated this while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after delivering the 2018 Annual Sobo Sowemimo Lecture at the Abeokuta Club in the Ogun state capital.
He said that since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had given the dates for the general elections, the board would only need to adjust accordingly.
“I don’t think there will be any need for a shift in the examination date because of the 2019 general elections.
I believe INEC has done well by giving us a prior notice six months ago.
“They have given us the date of the elections.
So we have no excuse not to have adjusted.
We have adjusted appropriately,” he said.
The registrar decried the rate at which candidates, who were not qualified to write UTME, applied for it, thereby causing “unnecessary luggage” on the board.
He said that JAMB would adopt stiffer measures to stop unqualified candidates from applying and sitting for the examination in the 2019/2020 admission exercise.
Oloyede noted that JAMB would not allow anyone to take undue advantage over others, adding that the board would not repeat the mistake it recorded in the last examination as regards this development.
The JAMB registrar said the body would begin the 2019/2020 examination process by October with a promise that the procedure for the next exercise would be better than the last one.
“We are on with the 2018/2019 admission exercise.
This, we started just about a month ago.
We believe that by the end of October, we would then begin the 2019/2020 admission.
“I can assure you that we are fine tuning and learning from our mistakes last year.
We are perfecting the processes and procedures, ensuring that no one is allowed to have undue advantage over the others,” he said.
Oloyede, who did not disclose the exact number of candidates expected for the 2019 exercise, said measures had been put in place to ensure that all candidates are qualified.
“It is difficult to say the exact number of candidates we are expecting this time.
We expect to crash the number because many of those who are taking the forms are not even prepared or qualified for the exam.
“Some are SS1 students are just trying to contribute N5, 000 unduly to our purse.
We are putting in place some checks to make people who want to apply to be minimally qualified.

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