• Don’t to be captured, JAMB Registrar, Oloyede, warns exam officials
By Gabriel Dike
Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has likened the board’s examination to a typical battlefield. He charged examination officials not to allow sentiments or emotions from any quarter mar the sanctity of the examinations.
He gave during the virtual briefing of Biometric Verification Officials in preparation for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The briefing was aimed at sensitizing participants to the expectations of the board and the crucial roles they are to play in the just concluded UTME Mock and the upcoming UTME.
According to him, the BVM operators are the board’s direct and first contact with its candidates. They have the responsibility to give their best to the service of the board: “Examination is a war! You are at a battlefield. Anyone who wants to cheat should be seen as an enemy and be treated as one.
“As the link between the board and the centre, take the responsibility imposed upon you seriously. I hope you would not fail your conscience and your nation.”
He reminded participants that supervisors and BVM operators play a central role in the success of the examination: “They are to ensure that only candidates verified and certified as genuine are allowed into the examination hall.”
He enjoined the participants to work closely with technical officers charged with the responsibility of administering the examination. The training was anchored by specialists and consultants from the Information and Technology Services Department.
Participants were briefed the on the series of innovations put in place by the JAMB to ensure smooth and seamless verification of candidates as well as the essence and functionality of the BVM and other necessary operational processes put in place to safeguard the sanctity of the examination.
The training was anchored by Prof. Bashir Galadanci and Mr. Damilola Bamiro, IT experts.
Meanwhile, registration for the 2023 UTME ended last month with South West topping the chart. JAMB statistics showed that Lagos, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun and Osun states recorded 506,127 candidates of the 1,595,779 registered applicants.
A breakdown showed that Lagos recorded 270,573 candidates; Oyo, 94,970; Osun, 41,699; Ekiti, 21,421; Ogun, 81,048 and Ondo, 39,547.
In 2021, with 1.4 million candidates, Oyo recorded 82,521; Osun, 74,214; Ogun, 70,971; Ondo, 54,026; Lagos, 31,970 and Ekiti, 35,862.
The 2022 UTME registration had 1,763,338 candidates. Out of this figure, Lagos recorded 39,185; Oyo, 112,217; Osun, 97,508; Ogun, 96,774; Ondo, 64,291 and Ekiti, 44,572.
In the top-10 states with the highest registration, Lagos, Oyo and Ogun states occupied the first, second and third positions respectively. Rivers recorded 80,119; Kaduna, 79,478; FCT, 76,132; Delta, 61,718; Kano, 52,790; Nasarawa, 51,289 and Kwara, 49,365.
Ten states with the lowest registration were Zamfara with 4,988; Yobe, 10,522; Ebonyi, 11,172; Sokoto, 13,042; Kebbi, 13,482; Jigawa, 13,983; Adamawa, 15,504; Bayelsa, 16,494; Borno 16,793 and Taraba, 16,686.
JAMB disclosed the top-10 best performing centres with the highest registration. A centre in Rivers State topped with 13,228 candidates, Ogun, 12,307 and Kaduna, 10,894. A centre in Lagos, 10,820; Agodo-Egbe (Lagos), 10,713; Sangotedo (Lagos) 10,631; Onike (Lagos), 9,248; Edo, 10,777; Auchi (Edo), 9,337 and Ota (Ogun), 9,137.