The Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, has reported that approximately 1.94 million candidates took part in the 2024 examinations nationwide.
On Wednesday, while conducting an inspection of Computer Based Test (CBT) centers in Kaduna during the ongoing JAMB examinations, Oloyede made these remarks.
He further mentioned that by the conclusion of today’s examination, there would be fewer than 100,000 candidates remaining in Lagos, Benue, and other states across the nation.
Oloyede clarified that the swift process of candidate clearance and biometric capturing by JAMB expedited the entire exercise.
He noted this was part of JAMB’s re-engineering process towards ensuring hitch-free exercise.
“Even today, I have seen something which we need to improve on, but most importantly, we have done so many things in the background to make the exercise faster, more efficient and better. We have increased the level of automation,” he said.
The Registrar frowned at examination cheaters, saying “It does not pay”.
He noted that the majority of challenges encountered by JAMB involved impersonation.
Particularly, he highlighted that many cases involved candidates possessing duplicate National Identification Numbers (NIN). He mentioned that JAMB would address this issue with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
“The important thing is that we are ahead of the impersonators, we have arrested a father writing examinations for his son, the kind of parenting in this generation is uncalled for, I wonder what the father will tell the son if they are locked up in the same cell.
“We now have the facilities to check all sorts of impersonation and other malpractices,” he said.
Nevertheless, the registrar expressed gratitude to parents for their support, reminiscing about past years when they were observed lingering around examination centers, causing disturbances.
“There is no report this year of parents intruding, except one state. In that state, they felt since the first session failed, their children should not continue with the second or other sessions.
“Out of the country’s 775 centres, those who failed were not up to 20, and only one failed. Less than 30 of the centres failed at the first session because of ill preparation.
“When such things happen, the candidates should stay aside for the next session to move because questions are designed individually for a candidate,” he said.