2018 UTME registration decreased by 3.2 percent, says JAMB

Fred Ezeh, Abuja

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Tuesday disclosed that it recorded a decrease of 55,642 applications (3.2 percent) in the sale of 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) application documents when compared to last year. 

The decrease, according to JAMB, was as a result of stiffer and innovative measures introduced in the system to forestall multiple registration and other illicit practices by prospective candidates.

JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who gave the information at a press conference in Abuja, as the exam body prepares for the 2018 exercise which will commence on Friday, promised to uphold the culture of transparency, professionalism and global standards.

The nation wide exams is scheduled to hold simultaneously in the 605 Computer Base Test (CBT) centers approved by JAMB across the country.

Oloyede added that, “At the end of the two months application window, we realised that 1,662,763 candidates registered for the 2018 exam. This was contrary to 1,718,425 candidates that registered for same exam within a month and two weeks period in 2017.”

A further breakdown of the figure, based on state of origin, indicated that Imo state with 92,890 candidates, Oyo state with 86,695 and Osun state with 86,044 candidates, were the top three states with the highest number of application. While Sokoto, Zamfara and FCT, were at the bottom of the table with 13,456, 10,077 and 6,418 candidates respectively.

While promising an efficient system, with high tech security and monitoring, Oloyede urged candidates to adhere strictly to examination rules in order to avoid punishment that might affect their chances of securing admissions.

He reminded both candidates and invigilators of the ban on certain items, including: wrist watches, calculators, BlueTioth devices, smart lenses and several others.

Oloyede warned candidates against patronizing syndicates who have positioned themselves strategically to lure and defraud them with “mouth watering” offers and scores.