JAMB Accredits CBT Centres Ahead Of The 2024 UTME

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As part of preparations for the conduct of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME),  the  Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has commenced its centre accreditation process to ascertain those centres that could be certified as fit to host the examination. It is against this backdrop that the Board has deployed accreditation teams comprising Technical Officers (TO)  from the National Headquarters and State Offices, Chief External Examiners (CEE), Directors of the Headquarters Annexes, Zonal Directors, State Coordinators, Technical Advisors (TA), and Computer Professionals of Nigeria (CPN) to the various Computer-Based Test centres across the federation. The Chief External Examiners are selected Vice-Chancellors of Universities, Rectors of Polytechnics and Provosts of Colleges of Education who are given the responsibility of managing the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) exercise in the state of the location of their institutions on behalf of the Board.Speaking at the final briefing for the accreditation teams through its virtual platform on Friday, 1st December, 2023, the Director, Information Technology Services Department, Mr. Fabian Okoro, emphasised that the selection of officers for the exercise was not done haphazardly and, therefore, enjoined the participants to justify the confidence reposed in them. Continuing, Mr. Okoro stressed that any centre with less than 80 percent autotest/autobot success rate should not be visited and in the event where such a centre is visited, the test must be rerun and once the outcome is again less than the required recommendation, such a centre should not be approved noting that when accreditation is properly done, the conduct of the UTME would be smooth. “Ensure that the centres have all they claimed they have in the forms they had filled online. You are, therefore, to kindly report any centre that will give us problems in the examination and let your reasons be vividly stated in clear and unambiguous language,” he stated. In her remarks, the Director, Test Administration Department, Mrs. Ville Pius, urged the participants to pay rapt attention noting that their actions or inactions would have great impact on the operational processes of the Board, while charging them to refrain from taking decision that could negatively impact the conduct of the 2024 UTME.“Let me remind you of the importance of accreditation to our operations. Once we get it right at this point, both registration and examination become seamless, because 50 percent of our concerns might have been addressed in the process,” she submitted. In his reaction, the representative of the CPN, Mr. Kole Jagun, appealed to the Management of the Board to always give them ample time to prepare as he decried the fact that their invitation always comes at very notice. The facilitators for the briefing included the Deputy Director, ITS, Mrs. F. B. Usman; JAMB ICT Consultant, Mr. Damilola Bamiro; and Mr. Auwal Ahmed of the ITS Department.WHY WE ARE MEETING COMMISSIONERS OF EDUCATION  – JAMBThe Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has explained that the invitation extended to the Commissioners of Education of the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to attend a virtual meeting on Monday, 4th December, 2023, is to brief them on the upcoming 2024 UTME on account of the critical roles they are expected to play as stakeholders.The meeting is convened  to interface with these critical stakeholders in line with the Board’s inclusivity agenda as it seeks to carry all stakeholders along in its administration of the UTME. The scheduled meeting, which is to be held through a virtual platform, is aimed at  briefing Distinguished State Commissioners on our level of preparedness for the upcoming examination and to seek their kind support, as critical stakeholders, to ensure that the exercise is a huge success.Recall that this meeting is usually held every examination year to brief the commissioners on what the Board is  doing as it concerns the entire examination value chain, thereby making the process not only inclusive, robust but also interactive.The Board would also be briefing respective Hon. Commissioners on how their States are faring vis-a-vis the establishment of world-class Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, war against examination malpractice, among other issues that would add value to the education sector in general.