JAMB blacklists 48 exams centres, cancels 57,464 results

Candidates at a post-UME centre

• Places 24 others on one-year suspension
• Fixes supplementary test for July 1

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has blacklisted 48 Computer Based Test (CBT) centres for what it called serious technical deficiencies, alleged extortion, organised examination malpractices and other damaging infractions during the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Twenty-four others were slammed with one-year suspension due to technical issues.

Consequently, the later category would not be allowed to partake in the 2018 examinations but might be reconsidered for subsequent editions.

These were some of the decisions reached at the end of meeting between the management of JAMB, chief external examiners and other major stakeholders during the review of this year’s examinations yesterday in Abuja.

In attendance were former and serving vice chancellors of universities, rectors of polytechnics and colleges of technology, provosts of colleges of education, registrars of universities, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Education, West African Examinations Council (WAEC) as well as private monitoring groups and civil society groups.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who briefed newsmen on the outcome of the meeting, announced the cancellation of results of 57, 646 candidates in what he referred to “centre-induced” malpractices. Similarly, 1, 386 individuals had their results cancelled, having being found culpable of examination malfeasance. Same fate befell 666 others for being found guilty of multiple tests.

According to Oloyede, the 57,646 whose results were cancelled as a result of centre-induced malpractices would be given another opportunity to resit at the forthcoming examinations along side late registrants on July 1.

He said the rescheduled test was also for candidates found innocent among the centres where malpractices reigned high. It also includes those with biometric, non-verification machine-related issues, technical and log-out lapses as well as late registration and the four lost sessions in three centres due to the malfunctioning of three servers at the centre. Those with incomplete results were also captured.

Altogether, 1, 722, 236 candidates registered for the 2017 UTME, a figure he described as the highest in the history of JAMB. The examination was conducted in 642 examination centres across 140 towns nationally. There were 7, 359 sessions in all.