JAMB to conduct Mock UTME for 1.7 million candidates in 2017
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- 1.7 million candidates are expected to register for the 2017 UTME

- JAMB has pledged to make sure the examination centres are increased

- Only 1,561,443 candidates sat for the UTME in 2016


Prof. Ishaq Oloyede

According to official figures, about 1.7 million candidates are expected to sit for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Ishaq Oloyede while speaking to journalists at the Information and Communication Technology Retreat on Tuesday, February 14 in Abeokuta, Ogun state revealed some facts.

According to the registrar, the board is planning to increase its Computer Based Testing (CBT) Centres in order to the make examination exercise far better.

Speaking on the number of candidates, he said: “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.’’

Mr Oloyede also said while 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.’’

READ ALSO: How much is JAMB form in 2017?

His words: “Frankly, I cannot promise a hitch-free examination because we are testing certain things.

“We are changing certain things; we want to question the status quo and we expect a fight back by interests that will be trampled upon."

Speaking on the state of the board, he said: “We are going to be as flexible as humanly possible; we are not promising hitch free examination."

The registrar also 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."

READ ALSO: Universities admissions: JAMB reveals plan for candidates

On expansion, he said the body plans to create new ICT facilities, and that prospective candidates, scholars, institutions and civil society groups were brought together to critique it.

He explained: “This is to enable us harvest good ideas that can improve what we are doing.’’

Mr. 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.

Meanwhile, JAMB has warned prospective candidates, parents and guardians to dismiss reports that it had started the sale of the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

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