The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has arrested a police officer, Etim Israel, for allegedly engaging a mercenary to write the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for him.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede said the policeman is one of the 657 candidates that requested for change of picture in their registration profiles without cogent reasons.
Israel, a Police Constable serving in the Akwa Ibom State Command, registered for the examination with his name while the mercenary used his picture and other biometric details to sit for the exam on his behalf.
He was said to have scored over 240 in the examination and decided to commence the admission process.
However, trouble started when he was told that the process won’t sail through because of the disparity in the picture, which prompted him to visit the JAMB office for correction, a move that landed him in waterloo.
A file photo of applicants taking the UTME examination.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a new date for the commencement of the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME) screening for the 2020 admission processes.
It revealed that the screening would begin not earlier than September 7, 2020, in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.
The Registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, announced the new date on Monday in Abuja after a consultative virtual meeting with vice-chancellors, rectors, and provosts of tertiary education institutions.
He explained that the shift in the date of the admission process from the earlier announced date of August 21 was to accommodate candidates who would be taking part in this year’s West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
The Federal Government had announced that the examination, which is administered by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) annually, would commence on Monday next week.
“Presently as you are aware, WAEC starts the Senior School Certificate Examination on August 17, it will go on till September 7,” Professor Oloyede said.
A file photo of JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, at a press conference.
He added, “On September 21 or thereabout, NABTEB will commence its examination that will go on till on the 15 of October, and immediately after that, NECO starts on the 5th and will hold till 18 of November.
“Rather than making candidates run, particularly, when they will have to write their school certificate exam in different towns and rush to university elsewhere for post-UTME, like somebody rushing from Sokoto to Ibadan for post-UTME, we believe as a custodian of the highest sector of the education system, we should avoid that.”
The JAMB’s registrar commended the various submissions made by the heads of tertiary institutions during the meeting.
He said institutions that conduct admission exercise without the administration of any-post UTME screening should also ensure candidates whose SSCE results would be released towards the end of the year were not denied participation in the process.
Professor Oloyede also revealed that the Board has withheld the results of candidates that sat for this year’s UTME at correctional service centres (prisons) over suspected infractions.
He said, “For those (institutions) who want to take post-UTME, that cannot be earlier than the 7th of September and it will be held twice – September 7 to October 4, and then it will be held for the second time on the 18 November to mop up those who are taking their school certificate examination.”
The Kano state Executive Council has approved the establishment of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Computer Based Testing Centres (CBTCs) in the five Emirates Councils as zonal offices and 44 Local Government Areas in the state.
The commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammadu Garba stated this on Sunday while addressing newsmen on the outcome of the council’s weekly meeting held at the Africa House, Government House, Kano.
He said it became necessary to increase the number of CBTCs, to prevent a situation where candidates have to be sent to neighboring states of Bauchi, Kaduna, Jigawa and Katsina for JAMB exams.
Garba also revealed that during its sitting, the council approved the establishment of the State Council on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to fast track the spread of ICT skills to the grassroots.
The council, according to him, would be co-chaired by the commissioner of Science, Technology and Innovation and that of local government, while the commissioners for Information, education, higher education as well as all the chairmen of the 44 local governments in the state will serve as members.
Speaking further, the commissioner stated that the council received a proposal from a private developer to use the old Triumph Publishing Company complex to create a specialized Forex Market (Kasuwar ‘Yan Chanji), the first of its kind in Nigeria and another one from Fari Properties Ltd. seeking to transform the abandoned Daula Hotel in the state capital into a residential.
Garba indicated that the council also received proposal for the construction of a multi-purpose ultra-modern shopping complex at the premises of Daula Hotel in the metropolitan area.
Ahead of the 2020/2021 academic session, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced one hundred and sixty (160) as the cut-off mark for admission into universities across the country.
The registrar of JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede who disclosed this in Abuja as part of the outcome of the 2020 virtual policy meeting on admissions into tertiary institutions also announced one hundred and twenty as the cut-off mark for polytechnics and one hundred for colleges of education and innovation institutes.
Speaking at the meeting, the minister of state for education, Mr. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba urged tertiary institutions to consider candidates with previous years senior school certificate examination and other qualifying results as he assures that the Federal Government will make arrangements which will accommodate applicants who will be taking the examination when the opportunity to do so is worked out.
A file photo of candidates writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)
Almost two million candidates registered for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) as the exam began today, Saturday.
The examination, conducted by the Joint Matriculation and Admissions Board (JAMB), will be written across 600 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide and is expected to end on April 4, 2020.
According to JAMB, the registered number of candidates is the highest so far in the 41-year history of the board.
To ensure smooth conduct of the examination, JAMB had deployed operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Services (DSS) to CBT centres and will also monitor activities within each hall through Closed-Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV).
The board had, in its weekly bulletin, said 63 centres would not be participating in the 2020 UTME due to various infractions, with 16 of them suspended only after the February 18 mock examination.
A breakdown of the 16 latest suspended CBT centres showed five were from Kano State, two from Gombe State, two from Bauchi State, and one from Cross River, Delta, Imo, Kwara, Lagos, and Zamfara states, as well as Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
A prosecution witness and Director at the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Karimatu Abubakar, has testified in a money laundering case involving one Aliyu Yakubu.
Yakubu, a revenue officer with the Kano Zonal Office of JAMB, is facing eight counts bordering on criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of funds, and money laundering to the tune of N20 million.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed the charges against him at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.
During proceedings on Thursday, Abubakar told Justice Peter Affen how the defendant admitted in the office that he diverted the money.
The funds, according to the EFCC, are proceeds from sales of e-facility cards while Yakubu reportedly replaced the sold cards with cardboard papers he cut to size.
In Lagos, one Olaniyi Ogungbaiye was arraigned by the anti-graft agency before Justice O. A. Taiwo of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja.
The defendant was charged with four counts bordering on conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, obtaining money by false pretence, and possession of fraudulent documents.
One of the counts read, “That you, Olaniyi Ogungbaiye and Babatunde Olanrewaju Oseifa aka Lanre Moet sometime in 2018, in Lagos within the Ikeja judicial with intent to defraud conspired to obtain several sums of money from unsuspected members of the public through romance and love scam in order to gain advantage for yourselves thereby committed an offence contrary to section (8)a of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act No. 14 of 2006.”
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has suspended the compulsory use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for candidates sitting for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) until 2021.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had disclosed that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will have registration centres around computer-based test (CBT) centres across the country for candidates who do not have the NIN to avoid difficulties in registering and writing the examination.
Prof. Oloyede, during a meeting with commissioners of education from the 36 states of the federation and other stakeholders, stressed that the need to introduce the initiative was based on the law made by the National Assembly, and anybody that fails to implement the NIN is liable on conviction.
The decision to suspend the process is coming on the heels of criticisms about the timing of the new policy by the examination body and the difficulty in obtaining the NIN.
Prof. Oloyede who stated this during a press briefing said the decision to suspend the policy is to allow enough time for candidates to acquire their NIN.
Registration for the 2020 JAMB UTME is expected to commence on January 13, and it stated that candidates can now apply with or without the NIN.
UTME prospective candidates since the announcement by JAMB had stormed the NIMC office on a daily basis in a bid to get their registration done.
Queues formed at the entrance of the NIMC office by an influx of candidates were seen at all centres as the date for the examination fast approached.
Some prospective candidates who spoke to Channels Television lamented the stress they had to go through in registering, stating that the availability of computers was a major concern.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has decried the rise in tutorial centres across the country, stressing that the increase will promote examination malpractice.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who disclosed this at a meeting with commissioners of education from the 36 states of the federation and other stakeholders on Monday in Abuja, revealed that most of the centres are run by people without a secondary school leaving certificate.
“The proliferation of tutorial centres; any state you go to, somebody who does not possess school certificate, will establish a tutorial centre, these centres are places of examination malpractice.”
The JAMB boss also enlightened the commissioners on the need to introduce the National Identification Number for candidates sitting for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
“We are bringing in NIMC, frankly speaking, I did not make the law, it’s the National Assembly that made the law and said that anybody who is rendering the type of service we are rendering must demand NIN, and anybody that fails to implement the NIN is liable on conviction.
“Left to me, I am not doing it because the law, I am doing it because it is the right thing to do. I am convinced that it is the right thing and that’s why I am sticking with it.
“It will be difficult, but if we don’t face it today, we are sentencing these boys and girls to a future that is bleaker than our own.”
Stressing further, Prof Oloyede explained that the computer-based test (CBT) centres across the country, have been mapped with the NIN and candidates who already have, will not encounter difficulties in writing the examination.
“What we have done is that each of our CBT centres have been mapped to NIMC registration centre; if you have NIN, you just go straight and start your registration, but for those without NIN, we are now making arrangements that our staff will convey the candidates to NIMC closest to register, this is to ensure that we reduce the level of problem that we have in these centres.”
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has accused some operators of the Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres used for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) of aiding examination malpractices in their respective centres.
The Registrar of the examination body, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made the allegation on Thursday during a meeting with CBT centres operators, technical advisors, service providers and other stakeholders in Zaria, Kaduna State
He decried that in trying to cover up their illegal activities, such centre operators always tamper with Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras mounted at their centres during examinations.
Professor Oloyede disclosed that 133 of such CBT centres have been delisted by JAMB for committing various examination malpractices.
He, thereafter, explained some of the steps being taken by the examination body to curtail such unprofessional conduct.
According to Professor Oloyede, JAMB has resolved to collaborate with the Computer Professional Council of Nigeria to monitor the conduct of its forthcoming UTME at various centres across the country.
He, therefore, handed down a warning at the meeting that any operator found wanting would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
The JAMB registrar noted that the collaboration with the Computer Council was Uto get them pay particular attention to the CCTV cameras during the UTME to avoid being tampered with.
The added that the measure has become imperative because of the way and manner operators tamper with the cameras mounted in the various designated CBT centres in order to cheat.
Professor Oloyede noted that although stamping out examination malpractices was a herculean task, the board was poised at reducing sharp practices of any form during UTME to its barest minimum.
Among the speakers at the meeting was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Sadiq Abubakar.
Professor Abubakar commended JAMB for instilling due process and transparency in the conduct of UTME across the country.
He was confident that such a step would not only curb examination malpractices but also ensure that university students acquire sound education.
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that all candidates that wish to take the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) must have the National Identification Number (NIN).
In a series of tweets, the examination board urged Prospective candidates to visit the nearest @nimc_ng office for their capturing.
“The Board would ONLY register candidates with NIN.
“All payments on JAMB Services are made directly to the Board’s TSA.
” Please be informed that the Board frowns on any form of financial dealings between candidates and staff.
“Therefore, candidates involved in any financial transaction with a staff of the Board should notify the Board immediately and also provide any useful information about such staff for necessary action”.
All Candidates wishing to take the 2020 UTME must have the National Identification Number (NIN). Prospective candidates are urged to visit the nearest @nimc_ng office for their capturing.
The Board would ONLY register candidates with NIN.
The trial of Priscilla Ogunsola and Daniel Agbo at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama has suffered a setback.
The trial of the duo could not proceed as scheduled on Thursday following the absence of the trial judge in court, Justice Peter Affen.
The judge’s absence prompted the prosecution and defence counsels to mutually agree on January 30, 2020, as adjournment date.
Ogunsola and Agbo, who were state coordinators of the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board ( Jamb) in Benin and Lokoja zonal offices, are facing trial for criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of fund among other crimes.
The allegations were preferred against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to a statement from the anti-graft agency, Ogunsola was arraigned on four counts bordering on diversion of fund to the tune of N26,400,000 to personal use.
One of the counts against Ogunsola read: “That you, Mrs Priscilla Ogunsola and Cyril Izirein Imoukhuede (now deceased) between 2012 and 2016 in Abuja and Edo State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, while respectively being the state coordinator and revenue officer of the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Benin office, dishonestly misappropriated the sum of N26,400,000 (twenty six million, four hundred thousand naira) belonging to JAMB, an agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 309 of the same law.”
Agbo, who was JAMB’s Lokoja office coordinator, was also arraigned on four counts bordering on criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of the sum of N6,606,000 belonging to JAMB.
Count two of the charge against him reads “That you, Daniel Agbo, between 2009 and 2016 in Abuja and Kogi State, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, while being the state coordinator of the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Lokoja zonal office, dishonestly misappropriated the sum of N6,606,000 (six million, six hundred and six thousand naira) belonging to jamb, an agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 of the Penal Code Law and punishable under Section 309 of the same law.”
Upon their arraignment, both defendants had pleaded not guilty to all the charges levelled against them, thus, setting the stage for their trial.
A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja, has granted a bail of N20 million to the official of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Mrs Philomina Chieshe, who claimed that a snake swallowed the sum of N35,480,000 million kept in her custody.
The trial judge, Justice Peter Afen, who granted the bail on Monday following the motion filed by her counsel, Mark Piese, added that Chieshe must present two sureties in like sum.
The sureties are expected to be resident within the jurisdiction of the court and possess titles to lands worth the value of the bail sum within the jurisdiction of the court.
Furthermore, the judge made an order directing the defendant to deposit her international passport with the court, adding that she is to be remanded in the Suleja prison, pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.
Thereafter, the case was adjourned till June 11 for further hearing.
