The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has withdrawn licences from 11 Computer-Based Centres (CBTs) for charging candidates unreasonably high amount in the ongoing 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME).
The Registrar of the board, Ishaq Oloyede, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at an interactive session with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), banks, E-transact, Digital Partner Network, Interswitch and other service providers.
The registrar listed some of the affected centres as Federal Polytechnics, Mubi, Adamawa; Adazi-Nnukwu ICT/CBT for selling forms at N5,000; Emkenlyn Computers, Nneameka Secondary School Anambra.
Others are New Kings and Queens Bayelsa for selling at N5,500; Brightfield Secondary School Delta for selling between N6,000 and N8,000; A-Pagen Consolidated Port Harcourt for selling at N5,000 and Influential School Port Harcourt for selling at N6,000.
Mr Oloyede said the proliferation of tutorial centres was a major concern as most of the centres engaged in fraud and corruption during registrations and examinations.
Mr Oloyede said charging above the stipulated N4,700 for the 2020 UTME registration and thereby making illegitimate money was an act of fraud and corruption.
He said the exorbitant charges have a negative effect on the nation and were destroying the system.
“Many people make illegitimate money from the examination and we will be destroying the nation if we don’t get things right.
“We felt the banks are overcrowded so we decided to expand the sale outlet to bring in mobile money operators to cover all the registered banks. The effects of the expansion are that some people are still penetrating the banks, thereby increasing the cost of the sale of form,” he said.
Premium Times reported in 2018 how President Muhammadu Buhari said the price of JAMB form should be slashed from N5,000 to N3,500. Currently, the official price for JAMB form price is N,3500, reading text, N500 and the CBT fee N700.
Mr Oloyede said that the board was paying N210 as commission for each of the forms sold to about 2 million candidates nationwide, saying extorting the candidates was unjust.
Partnership with NSCDC
Mr Oloyede said the board was working closely with the NSCDC to ensure that any agent who sold above the prescribed fee was brought to book.
He appealed to the NSCDC to assist in arresting any erring centres while also calling on candidates to report any centre involved in the act to commandants in their various states.
Meanwhile, the Commandant General, NSCDC, Abdullahi Muhammadu, urged the board to limit the tutorial centres in the country while making sure that lists of the certified tutorial centres were revealed to reduce infractions.
Mr Muhammadu asked the commandants in the various states to make integrity their watchword in order not to betray the confidence of the board as well as Nigerians.
Two arrests
The NSCDC also arrested two persons who are not agents of the board for selling ePINS for the ongoing 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)/Direct Entry (DE) registrations above the stipulated amount.
The two persons are Ambrose Okogwa and Fidelis Imafido. While Mr Okogwa is the main suspect, Mr Imafido is an accomplice
According to the NSCDC Delta State commandant, Benito Eze, the two persons collected N5,500 from each candidate registering for 2020 UTME examination
“These two men were arrested in Agbor, Delta state following intelligence information we received, The information we received was extortion and selling the JAMB form above the government-designated rate of N4000
He said they were arrested at Ambi Bookshop and Café cyber café at 159 Lagos Asaba road, Agbor.
In his response, Mr Okogwa said he was doing the business to earn a living,
“My profit is N300 out of the N5,500. Out of the N5,500, N4000 is for the JAMB form, N700 for the CBT centre, N500 for transportation and N300 is our profit. The CBT centres we partner with are aware we pay N4700 to Unity Bank Agbor,” he said.
He said there is an existing arrangement between the CBT owners and the branch manager of the bank, whom he referred to as Mrs Blessin
“Last year, College of Education Agbor also assisted us.”
The JAMB Registrar told the NSCDC to charge the two to court, adding that all parties involved should be investigated.
PREMIUM TIMES
