The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) may not hold in troubled Northern states on Saturday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board said on Wednesday.
Addressing Journalists in Abuja, the Registrar/Chief Exec utive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dibu Ojerinde, said the board “may not hesitate to stop the examination” if there is any security problem”.
He said, “Yesterday it was a big discussion among some agents as well as JAMB. We believe that things will be alright. Faith, you see, we have the belief that we will surmount the problem.
“If however, there is any problem, we may not hesitate to stop the examination in those areas to the extent that we will now give the children a chance of doing the examination on CBT only.
“If you miss PPT in a challenging area that you cannot do the examination; then you will have to do the next one and that will have to be as from 18th of May.
“With God, we shall not experience any problem. We have put everything humanly possible in place and we have put this before almighty God and we believe He is not going to sleep on that day. But if there is a need for postponement in those places, we shall not hesitate”, he added.
Mr Ojerinde revealed that the Board had concluded arrangements for its first Computer Based Test in 70 centres across the nation from May 18 to June 1.
This is an alternative to the Dual Based Test and Paper Pencil Test scheduled for this Saturday.
He, however, added that the CBT candidates still have the option to take Dual Based Test or Paper Pencil Test on Saturday.
The Board advised CBT candidates to go online to reprint their e-slip form as “inevitable amendments had been made on the time-table for the CBT examination”.
Of the 1,735,720 registered for this year’s examination, 1,629,102 candidates applied for PPT; 15,008 for DBT and 91,610 for CBT. The total figure represents 13.35 percent increase from last year.
No fewer than 145 visually impaired candidates and 196 inmates from Kaduna and Lagos prisons also registered for the examination.
The examination will hold simultaneously in 3,168 centres in 378 towns in Nigeria and six foreign centres of Accra (Ghana), Buea in Cameroon, Cotonou in Republic of Benin, London, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Johannesburg in South Africa.
Mr Ojerinde disclosed that candidates have the opportunity to change their choices of institutions and courses once only within two weeks after releasing the results.
He also warned that the officials caught in examination malpractices will be prosecuted.
“I want to sound a note of warning once more that those trying to compromise our well organised arrangement shall be made to face the full wrath of the law.
“The Board is hereby appealing to all candidates to strictly adhere to all laid -down rules by conducting themselves properly during the examination.”
