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From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai and the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, have praised the Registrar of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede, for prudent management of resources, as the Board commissioned a 1,000 seater capacity Mega Computer Based Test (CBT) Centre in Kaduna.
The largest in West Africa 4-units each of 275 seater capacity CBT centres and holding halls named after President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Nasir El-Rufai respectively, with the capacity to conduct Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for 4,000 candidates per day, was commissioned by the Kaduna State Governor.
Governor El-Rufai and the Education Minister said Professor Oloyede has proven that Nigeria will progress if public institutions are manned by upright, honest and dedicated public servants.
While commissioning the centre on Wednesday, Governor El-Rufai assured JAMB that, the incoming administration of Senator Uba Sani will continue to support the Board to expand its facilities in Kaduna State.
According to the Governor, “When we had that conversation about four years ago about the plan of JAMB to build this Professional Testing Centers, we did what we could support Professor Oloyede in his effort at reforming JAMB. All we have done to wave any monetary compensation on this land is in recognition of the good work that Professor Oloyede is doing.
“We are immensely proud of the transformation and reforms he has introduced in JAMB and as state governments, we are all beneficiaries of the huge surpluses that you have remitted to the federation account and it is our duty therefore to do whatever we can to support you. Any financial waiver given to JAMB is to the benefit of the states of Nigeria.
“You are doing a good job, you have shown that this institution has great potential to contribute to the treasury of Nigeria provided it is managed by an upright, honest and dedicated public servant. May God bless you. I commend the Federal Ministry of Education and JAMB to build this largest in Nigeria CBT Centre in Kaduna. It will make life much easier for citizens of Kaduna and surrounding states,” El-Rufai said.
The Minister of Education in his own address said that the Professor Oloyede-led JAMB had despite its huge remittances to the Federal Government coffers, remained a leading light in public project execution.
According to him, “The Board has demonstrated capacity and determination and all it needs at this moment is the support of all. It is the prudent management of resources that opens the means for the Board to conceive the project and finance it to its completion. It is no longer news that the Board today is a leading light in the management of public resources given the number of projects it has executed despite its humongous remittances to the public coffers.
“I have been briefed that this project is executed for the sum of One Billion, One hundred and Ninety-Eight Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty-Four Thousand, Two Hundred and Eighty-Five (N1,198,764, 285.00) Naira. This is besides the Mega CBT Centre built in Gbongan, Osogbo, Owerri and the various renovations of many more in addition to the ones constructed through its partnership with the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC)”.
The Minister added that the implementation of the computer-based test mode of assessing candidates is a brainchild of necessity but with so many advantages. “For a start, the CBT mode has largely eliminated the problem of examination misconduct, engendered faster release of results as well as enhance the credibility of the entire assessment process and is in line with international best practices. Permit me to use this opportunity to commend JAMB for its tireless efforts in sanitising the processes for admitting candidates into our tertiary institutions.”
Speaking on the facility, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Oloyede said, “Given the pivotal role of Kaduna, this project was conceived in 2018 and was initially designed to be a 500-capacity CBT centre. After the competitive bidding process, the Board approved the contract for the construction of a 500 (550 with a 10% backup) capacity Professional Test Centre (PTC) at the cost of N205,556,303.14 on the 13th May 2019. Prior to the conception of the project, the 750-capacity in Owerri, Imo State, was the biggest PTC that the Board had embarked upon in the country.
“On a site visit to Kaduna, in October 2021, Management observed that the 2 Holding Rooms were large enough to accommodate 2 extra centres. A review was thus made and the centres were adjusted to 1000 (actually 1,100) seater mega centres, each exclusively containing its 275 computers (for 250 candidates) per session at an updated cost of N306, 615, 715.31 but without Holding Halls. It was at that stage that H.E., Governor El- Rufai came to our rescue, at no cost to the Board.
“The Board was at a fix realising that there was no space to accommodate befitting Holding Halls for the mega centres unless the office block was demolished. We in desperation approached two of our immediate neighbours with a strange proposal to sell their identified two occupied buildings to us. We were prepared to make an irresistible offer. The neighbours informed us that they were mere tenants of the Kaduna State government, hence the offer was made to the Government of Kaduna State through the then Honourable Commissioner for Education Dr Shehu Usman Mohammed Makarfi.
“The Governor insisted that a virtual meeting was sufficient for us to make our case. And within minutes, he granted our request. Surprisingly, he magnanimously turned down our offer to provide the fund for the erection of replacement for the two buildings at any place of choice of the government. He instantly, and at no cost issued the Certificate of Occupancy in favour of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
“Your Excellency, both in person and as a Registrar of JAMB, we shall forever cherish and appreciate the honour and favour you have accorded us.
“The contract for the 4 independent holding halls (which are equally suitable as break-out sessions for conferences and seminars) was awarded on 26th November 2021 to Ijunct Construction Ltd., at the cost of N396,051.484.90. In addition, the Electrical and customised ICT infrastructure was awarded in January 2023 to ATY&K at the cost of N496, 615, 715.31. The 3 projects we are commissioning today, therefore, consist of: 4 Distinct fully equipped Professional Test Centres with combined seating of one thousand one hundred (1,100), 4 Well – equipped holding halls with a cumulative capacity of one thousand (1000) seats, 4 Professional Registration Centre (Biometric/Prometric Centres) that process 40 registrants concurrently, 4 Equipped Control/Server Rooms, 500 KVA Generators (with 8 unit of 9KVA generators), 500 KVA dedicated transformer, 10KVA Solar facilities to serve as an alternative independent power source; and 100 Extra Systems/Servers and other accessories for the use of other centres across the nation.”
