1.7m candidates to write 2017 UTME, says JAMB

Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, says 1.7 million candidates are expected to sit for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Oloyede made the disclosure while fielding questions from journalists at the Information and Communication Technology Retreat organised for stakeholders on Tuesday in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The retreat was attended by civil society groups, students and other  stakeholders  in the education sector.
The registrar said the board was also planning  to increase its Computer Based Testing (CBT) Centres in order to the make examination exercise  seamless.
“We are expecting 1.7 million candidates to sit for JAMB this year and we want to make sure we satisfy them within a week or thereabout,’’ he said.
1,561,443 candidates sat for the UTME in 2016.
Oloyede said although  he could not guarantee a hitch-free examination, the  innovations being put in place “will send some illegal operators, who are defrauding candidates in the past, out of business.’’
He said the board would not be deterred in its mission to serve its candidates better this year.
“Frankly, I cannot promise a hitch-free examination because we are testing certain things.
“We are changing certain things; we want to question the statuesquo  and we expect a fight back by interests that will be trampled upon,’’ the registrar said.
He explained that the board would be as sincere as possible.
“We are going to be as flexible as humanly possible; we are not promising hitch free examination,’’ he said.
Oloyede noted that the board had envisaged that there would be hitches, but that  these  would not be insurmountable.
According to him, rather than promising hitch-free examination, the board promises a direction that all will be pleased with.
He said that the major objective of the retreat was for stakeholders to critique the board’s processes, “because we will not want to continue in the wrong direction’’.
Oloyede said the board was planning to create new ICT facilities and  stakeholders  such as  prospective candidates, scholars, institutions and civil society groups  were brought  together to critique it.
“This is to enable us harvest good ideas that can improve what we are doing,’’ he said.
He said the CBT had come to stay, adding that four African countries had indicated interest to understudy the process in Nigeria.
Oloyede  also said that JAMB would soon begin the sale of forms for the 2017 UTME, adding that the board was also working on the possibility of conducting a mock examination.