2025 UTME: JAMB, CBT Owners And Examination Stakeholders 

LAGOS  – The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), ahead of the commencement of its annual Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), interfaces with its various publics on the need to ensure a hitch-free conduct of the all-important test. These meetings help JAMB ensure a smooth registration and examination process. 

The initial meeting included the Commissioners of Education from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). This gathering was to foster collaboration and gather insights from these vital stakeholders regarding the board’s processes. 

The commissioners have historically played a significant role in JAMB’s stakeholder engagement, participating in annual meetings where the features of the examination cycle are presented for their analysis and feedback. 

The stakeholders meeting organised by JAMB enables the board to gather feedback and insights on its processes. These meetings help JAMB to ensure a smooth registration and examination process. 

However, despite wider consultation by the board, it continues to beat the imaginations of many discerning Nigerians that owners of accredited Computer Based Centres (CBT) still fall short of the benchmark for a seamless registration given by the board. 

As the 2025 registration exercise commenced on Monday, February 3, 2025, and is scheduled to close on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at all JAMB-accredited CBT centres, the exercise has not been without some infractions by the stakeholders with whom the board sought cooperation to ensure seamless registration exercise and conduct of the examination. 

Field reports revealed that parents, guardians and candidates who keep vigil at registration centres get frustrated by the attitude of some centre owners who prefer to attend to a set of groups called stakeholders. These are the go-between acting on behalf of private school owners to register candidates in large numbers at the detriment of walk-in candidates. 

A concerned parent has been keeping vigil at the CBT centre in Gberigbe, a suburb of Ikorodu, Lagos, decried the activities of a centre in the locality where preference is given to school owners that bring scores of candidates for registration at the detriment of others who had been on the queue for hours. 

The concerned parent, who left his home at about 5.30 in the morning with tag number 58, was amazed at about 11 a.m. when the operators of the CBT centre shut out other candidates in the queue to attend to two busload candidates from a private school. 

The development generated a lot of reactions as parents and guardians protested the ill-treatment and favouritism. 

At another centre in Ikorodu, sources said the scenario was the same as CBT owners abandoning candidates in the sun to attend to bulk registration and candidates that were brought from nowhere to register ahead of others in the queue. 

It would be recalled that barely 24 hours after the commencement of registration; the board suspended the Federal College of Education (Technical) Potiskum CBT Centre 2 in Yobe State and the CBT Centre, Otukpo, Benue State, for 14 days, effective today, Tuesday, February 4, 2025. 

The suspension follows a significant procedural breach that jeopardises the security measures implemented to prevent infractions and to ensure the integrity of the information provided to the Board in case of any contestation. 

The board expressed dismay that despite being fully briefed on the implications of failing to adhere to these guidelines, some centres have chosen to disregard them by submitting blank copies of the registration template in a misguided effort to increase candidate submissions. 

According to JAMB, the suspension serves as a stern warning to any centres considering similar actions. Any centre found uploading blank templates in the future will face cancellation and will be barred from participating in the Board’s activities. 

Within the same week, JAMB cautioned CBT centres against the trend of nocturnal (nighttime) registration of prospective candidates by certain registration centres, saying that much as it appreciated the enthusiasm of these centres to accommodate as many candidates as possible, the exercise should not be at the cost of the candidates’ safety and security. 

In light of this, JAMB provides clarity and issues a stern warning to the centres listed below, as well as any others that may consider engaging in similar practices, to immediately cease these activities. 

Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor warned that the board would not tolerate any violations of the regulations governing the registration process and will take appropriate measures against any centre engaged in questionable or exploitative practices during this exercise. 

Parents Decry Non-availability Of Centre For Mock Exam In Southeast, Southwest 

With about 90 per cent of examination towns exhausted with no spaces left in the southern part of the country, concerned parents have expressed concerns over the seeming denial of their wards the opportunity to sit for the mock test. This test is optional and is only for individuals who do not qualify by age or do not wish to apply for admission in 2025 but want to gain experience with the Computer-Based Test (CBT) system. 

The board’s spokesperson, Benjamin, said the remaining states with available slots are Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba, and Yobe. 

A concerned parent, Bola Popoola urged the Board to open up more test centres in the southern part of the country, saying he would never allow his ward to travel to Gombe to write optimal examinations.