JAMB May Extend Registration For Direct Entry

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Following public outcry over the challenges candidates are facing in the ongoing registration for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for Direct Entry, there are indications that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) may extend the deadline.

An unnamed source at JAMB said the extension might be for one week.

The source added that should the problem persists, the examination body may consider a further extension to accommodate every legitimate willing applicant.

Recall deadline for registration had earlier been fixed for Saturday, 13 May thus forcing desperate candidates keep vigil in the open at the Hawksworth Lagos Office of JAMB to beat the deadline for registration.

However, the source confirmed that the management of the examination body had at the weekend deliberated on the challenges being faced at its offices, especially in Lagos, and decided to extend the deadline to “ensure that every qualified and willing applicant is duly registered.”

However, the Head of Public Affairs and Protocol for the examination agency, Fabian Benjamin, neither confirmed nor denied the information.

But Mr. Benjamin said he was sure that every candidate willing to register for the Direct Entry application would be allowed to do so.

The challenges candidates are facing stemmed from generalization of the exercise in stare head offices of the Board. Private Computer Based Centres we’re barred from participation in the process to stem the tide of irregularities.

The centralisation of the process, according to the examination body, was aimed at curbing the use of fake A-level documents for registration.

JAMB said it had been inundated with complaints of fraud allegedly by applicants, citing the case of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), which it noted expelled about 140 students for presenting fake A-level results.

JAMB said the centralisation of the application process is, therefore, to guide against such fraudulent practices and to set a template for private CBT centres’ participation in subsequent years.

But this decision has left many applicants stranded with the examination body’s office in Lagos recording rowdiness, especially within the last week.

Speaking earlier on the development, JAMB’s spokesperson, Mr. Benjamin, told PREMIUM TIMES: “When we started the registration, the offices were nearly empty, and candidates were not coming. Don’t forget; the DE registration is not a high-tech registration; we usually have just about 100,000 and sometimes 200,000 candidates registering for the whole year.

“So, you can imagine where these people are coming from at this particular point in time. But as a responsible organisation, we will do everything possible, especially for candidates who have purchased the PIN to register.”

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