The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says that eligible candidates for its 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) can now purchase the pin for registration using the Remita platform .
The board said on Sunday the development came on the heels of the reported challenges the candidates faced in an attempt to acquire the pins from NIPOST and the designated banks.
The Head of Information of JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said the board had noted the many headaches of prospective candidates from various parts of the country, including Lagos.
He said that candidates had lamented the difficulties involved in obtaining the pins from designated banks on the payment of N5,500 and the subsequent hassles in getting registered.
The registration of candidates for the examination started on March 20, with many describing candidates the process as cumbersome and frustrating as they have to queue as early as 2 or 3 a.m. in some cases in banks just to acquire pins.
They had also said that often times, they spent the entire day waiting endlessly without results as the bank officials tell them that they could not access the site for the pins.
They also said the development normally warranted them to spend almost an entire week trying and that even when they succeeded, they start facing the task of registration at overcrowded centres.
According to Benjamin, candidates are advised not to panic as every eligible candidate desirous of registering will do so before the closing date of April 19.
“We appreciate the fact that the sales of the UTME for 2017 which is hitherto set to last for six weeks has been reduced to one month.
“This was done in the interest of the candidates as it was to ensure that the challenges candidates are going through are resolved.
“To further cushion the effect of these challenges, we have decided to bring the Remitta mode on board.
“Candidates can now purchase the pin for registration from the comfort of their homes.
“So, aside the banks and NIPOST, candidates can now purchase the pins through Remita,’’ Benjamin said in a statement.
He explained why the board banned cyber cafes from registering candidates for the examination, noting that activities in the cafes damaged records and statistics of candidates.
“In as much as we want to be inclusive, we cannot look the other way while students’ records and national statistics are mutilated.
“Ours is an examination, so we cannot be guided by primordial consideration over quality and standard,’’ he said.
According to Benjamin, most problems associated with candidates’ registration such as wrong spellings of names, wrongful placement of passport photograph and others emanates from the business centres at registration points.
“Don’t forget, it is virtually impossible to regulate the activities of these business centres as their mode of operations did not provide necessary details about them.
“These problems created by cafes make information gathering, processing and administration of examination cumbersome as records and data of candidates are distorted.
“The accreditation centres are on the board’s website for easy identification cohesion and smooth operation,’’ it explained.
He added that the board would continue to expand the frontiers and channels of the sales of the pins in virtually all the banks, with a view to bringing the services to the door step of every Nigerian child desirous of qualitative tertiary education.
According to Benjamin, examination is a serious business and it cannot be left open the way some people want it to be.
“We again urge Nigerians particularly anxious candidates not to fall prey to unsuspecting and dubious individuals who parade themselves as agents of JAMB with the intention to defraud them.
“The board’s e-brochures and syllabus are on the CD to be given out to candidates and it is free and available as a guide to candidates to have a hitch-free registration exercise,’’ he said.
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