JAMB blames candidates for UTME registration challenges

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said most of the challenges applicants encountered during registration for the 2021 Unified Tertiary uMatriculaddtion Examinations (UTME) were due to their failure to follow simple instructions.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said this on Wednesday during visits to computer-based test centres in Kogo-Bwari and Garki 2 in Abuja.

The registrar said over 80 per cent of registration problems were linked to the candidates’ disobedience to instructions.

“Many of them (candidates) were sending wrong things and commands for the National Identification Number (NIN), making the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) unable to verify such numbers.

“The problems are self-created by the candidates. You are sending messages for a profile code and no credit of N50?” he said.

Oloyede added that despite their extension, the number of applicants who had registered for the examination fell drastically until towards the closing date.

The registrar said only 1.38 million candidates procured the Personal Identification Number (PIN) for registration while 1.37 million completed their registration.

The JAMB had, on May 15, 2021, extended the registration till May 29 due to the complaints by members of the public, which varied from issues relating to the NIN.

Despite the extension, there are still complaints about the inability of the applicants to register due to lateness or non-delivery of NIN verification code, mismatch or wrong names originally submitted to NIMC, among others.