EXCLUSIVE: JAMB to extend registration for direct entry

Beginning from Monday, 15 May, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) may have concluded plans to extend the registration for candidates seeking direct entry admission to universities nationwide.

The deadline for registration had earlier been fixed for Saturday, 13 May. Still, the rowdiness consistently experienced within the past week at the Lagos office of the examination body informed the latest decision.

The new development was confirmed to PulseNets on Saturday evening by a highly placed JAMB official who does not want to be named for lacking the authority to give the information.

But the source confirmed that the management of the examination body had at the weekend deliberated on the challenges being faced at its offices, especially in Lagos, and decided to extend the deadline to “ensure that every qualified and willing applicant is duly registered.”

However, the Head of Public Affairs and Protocol for the examination agency, Fabian Benjamin, neither confirmed nor denied the information.

But Mr Benjamin said he was sure that every candidate willing to register for the direct entry application would be allowed to do so.

Registration challenges

JAMB recently barred privately-owned computer-based test centres from participating in the registration for direct entry applicants and instructed applicants to approach any of its offices nationwide for registration.

The centralisation of the process, according to the examination body, was aimed at curbing the use of fake A-level documents for registration.

JAMB said it had been inundated with complaints of fraud allegedly by applicants, citing the case of Bayero University, Kano (BUK), which it noted expelled about 140 students for presenting fake A-level results.

JAMB said the centralisation of the application process is, therefore, to guide against such fraudulent practices and to set a template for private CBT centres’ participation in subsequent years.

But this decision has left many applicants stranded with the examination body’s office in Lagos recording rowdiness, especially within the last one week.

Disturbing images of applicants sleeping on floors at the Ikoyi office of JAMB in Lagos had consistently surfaced on the internet, forcing the leadership of NANS to visit the scene and demand immediate resolution.

But JAMB has blamed the applicants for adopting a last-minute rush, saying for the first few weeks of the registration period, it recorded low patronage.

Speaking earlier on the development, JAMB’s spokesperson, Mr Benjamin, told newsmen: “When we started the registration, the offices were nearly empty, and candidates were not coming. Don’t forget; the DE registration is not a high-tech registration; we usually have just about 100,000 and sometimes 200,000 candidates registering for the whole year.

So, you can imagine where these people are coming from at this particular point in time. But as a responsible organisation, we will do everything possible, especially for candidates who have purchased the PIN to register.”

Speaking with this newspaper on the decision to extend the deadline for DE registration once again, the JAMB official confirmed that the management took the decision at the weekend.

The source, however, noted that the examination body is reluctant to announce the extension so that candidates would not go “and relax again, and then wait for the last minute rush.”

The source said the extension would be by one week, but if the crisis persists, the examination body may consider a further extension to accommodate every legitimate willing applicant.

“But we cannot foresee a situation that would warrant another extension after this. This is based on the calculation of the annual DE registration figures and what has been recorded so far this year,” the source added.

JAMB keeps mum

When PulseNets contacted the JAMB spokesperson, he said he could not comment on the lingering issue. Still, he insisted that “as a responsible organisation that values its integrity and the dignity of every single student, the best decision would be taken.”

He said: “I have no doubt that every willing applicant who may have vended PIN would be allowed to register for the DE. The difficulty is just part of the measures to address the malpractice identified with the process of registration and we can assure Nigerians that JAMB is too responsible to willingly subject applicants to the unnecessary challenges currently being witnessed.”

He said the examination body is already achieving the desired result, saying it is embarrassing that candidates screened for admission are later found to have used fake results by the universities.

Acceptable A-level results

JAMB had at different times listed acceptable A-level results for this year’s DE registration, warning candidates against fraudulent practices.

The listed A-level results include a university diploma, Ordinary National Diploma (OND), National Diploma (ND), Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), Higher National Diploma (HND) and a university degree.

Also Read: Okada Riders Daughter Overall Best in JAMB, Wins N3m Innoson Scholarship Awards

Others are Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB), Joint Universities Preliminary Examination Board (JUPED), NABTEB Advanced National Business Certificate, NABTEB Advanced National Technical Certificate, NABTEB GCE-A’ Level (2015 – 2021), Higher Islamic Studies Certificate by NBAIS, International Baccalaureate and the National Registered Nurse/ Midwife certificates.