17/05/2021
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) has
extended the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) and Direct Entry(DE) registration exercise from
Saturday, 15th May, to Saturday, 29th May 2021.
The Board also shifted the conduct of the 2021 Mock-UTME
scheduled to hold on Thursday, 20th May to Thursday, 3rd June 2021.
Consequent to the above, the 2021 UTME earlier scheduled to commence from 5th to 19th June is now to hold from 19th
June to 3rd July 2021.
These changes were announced after a two-day stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Board to identify the challenges
that had impeded the smooth flow of the registration process and proffer workable solutions to the identified bottlenecks in
the interest of the teeming population of candidates aspiring for further studies in institutions of higher learning. It would be recalled that the Board, in compliance with extant laws on the use of National Identification Number (NIN), announced last year that it was going to use NIN as one of the requirements for
the 2020 UTME Registration. This plan was, however, put on hold because of certain overriding considerations. However, this year the Board embraced the policy fully by making the possession of NIN a cardinal requirement of the registration process in compliance with
the directive from the Federal Government. In doing so, other
noticeable benefits accrued to the Board principally in terms of curbing double registration and impersonation, among others.
To holistically address all challenges encountered by candidates, the stakeholders undertook an on-the-spot assessment of the registration process at some Computer-Based Test (CBT)
centres, NIMC enrollment centres and Telco offices in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, where they interacted with prospective candidates and CBT centre operators. After exhaustive deliberations, the meeting identified the following as the
major challenges that had slowed down the registration process:
i. Candidates’ non-compliance with registration requirements:
- Using the wrong format to generate profile codes while sending NIN to the Board’s USSD code (55019);
- Inputting incomplete or wrong NIN to generate profile codes;
- Using multiple cell phone numbers to generate profile codes with the same NIN;
- Using special packages such as post- paid, promo bundles, Do Not Disturb (DND) which blocks delivery of profile codes to candidates;
- Last-minute rush for NIN enrollment by prospective candidates.
ii. CBT centres’ violation of registration
procedures:
- Inadequate registration points at some CBT centres, such centres use only one or two points instead of the approved twenty(20);
- Warehousing of candidates by prior collection of registration fee thereby constraining the candidates from registering at other available centres;
- Extortionate charges above the approved registration fees;
- Deployment of incompatible computer systems;
- Using untrained and unauthorised personnel to register candidates.
iii. Telcos and JAMB Digital Service Providers’ poor service delivery:
- Connectivity failure;
- Non-reimbursement of candidates for undelivered codes;
- Malfunctioning of software;
- Inadequate capacity. To ensure that the extended period is
fully utilised, the Board would dispatch monitoring teams to all States of the Federation and the FCT during the extension period.
To resolve these identified bottlenecks, the meeting adopted the following measures:
i. The Board is to seek an alternative
Value-Added Service (VAS) provider to enhance the smooth dispatch of profile codes.
