2020 UTME registration to begin January 13

Registration for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME) will start on January 13 and end on February 17, the Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has said.

The JAMB registrar said the examination would hold between March 14 and April 4, 2020 while an optional mock examination for candidates would take place on February 18, 2020.

Oloyede spoke yesterday in Abuja at a meeting with education commissioners from the 36 states and other stakeholders.

The JAMB registrar noted that registration for the 2020 UTME and Direct Entry (DE) would be done simultaneously between January 13 and February 17, 2020.

He said the board had collaborated with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) for the smooth conduct of the examination, as directed by the Federal Government.
Candidates are expected to obtain their National Identity Number (NIN) from NIMC registration centres nationwide before they can sit for the examination, the board said.

Oloyede said over 40,000 candidates for the examination had obtained their NIN.

The registrar insisted that the NIN was compulsory for the conduct of 2020 UTME.

He said: “The board is bringing in the NIMC, as directed by the National Assembly and Federal Executive Council (FEC), to conduct the 2020 UTME.

“This will ease our job because those who have not been able to register can now be transported to NIMC centres at the point of registration. I believe that over 40,0000 candidates have already got their NIN.

“Everybody must rise up and support NIMC. We are also bringing in Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) to help in monitoring the Computer-Based Centres (CBTs).

“We also have the advantage of the Galaxy Backbone. Each of the CBT centres has been mapped with NIMC enrolment centres.”

The registrar stressed that it was important for candidates to register with NIN as this would help to eliminate multiple registration discovered during the 2019 registration.

“Our experience, last year, showed that some candidates registered multiple times to perpetrate impersonation. This is because exam malpractices start at the point of registration.

“JAMB needs full collaboration of states’ education commissioners to help sensitise candidates in their various states on the need and importance of the NIN for 2020 registration.

“We have called you to inform you about our preparedness towards the conduct of the 2020 UTME and to pay attention to public examinations in your states and be conscious of proliferation of exam centres to perpetrate exam malpractices,” he said.

Oloyede added that the board had put in place a Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) designed to prevent institutions from unilaterally changing or proposing a candidate for admission into programmes or courses other than his/her chosen course.

The registrar said some institutions had devised a method of offering admission to candidates outside CAPS on their designated portals.

He warned that any institution doing so was putting the future of such candidate in jeopardy.

Oloyede explained that JAMB’s mandate required that in placing candidates, preference should be given to them to choose their courses of study.