The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and heads of all tertiary institutions have agreed to commence the 2020/2021 post- Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) screening on September 7.
The board explained the shift in the date of admission processes was to allow students sitting for the 2020 O’ level examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council, National Examination Council and National Business and Technical Examination Board obtain the required O’ level qualifications.
Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this on Monday after a consultative virtual meeting with Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts of tertiary institutions.
Oloyede said: “The view of JAMB is that while we go on consulting at a point when it becomes necessary for decision, we should all come together and take decision.
“Presently as you are aware, WAEC starts the Senior School Certificate Examination on 17 August, it will go on till 7th of September.
“Similarly, on the 21 of September or thereabout, NABTEB will commence its examination that will go on till on the 15 of October and immediately after that, NECO starts on the 5th and will hold till 18 of November.
“Rather than making candidates run, particularly, when they will have to write their school certificate exam in different towns and rush to university elsewhere for post-UTME, like somebody rushing from Sokoto to Ibadan for post-UTME, we believe as a custodian of the highest sector of the education system, we should avoid that.”
Oloyede stated that institutions whose post-UTME screening is mandatory for candidates would have to spread such exercise in two phases.
“For those (institutions) who want to take post-UTME, that cannot be earlier than the 7th of September and it will be held twice- 7 September to 4 October, and then it will be held for the second time on the 18 November to mop up those who are taking their school certificate examination,” he stated.
Oloyede said institutions that conduct admissions without the administration of any-post UTME screening should also ensure candidates whose SSCE results will be released towards the end of the year are not denied participation in the admission exercise.
Meanwhile, Oloyede disclosed that the board has withheld the results of candidates that sat for this year’s UTME at Correctional Service Centres (prisons) over suspected infractions.
“There are candidates who took exams in the prison yard that we know are not prisoners, so we wrote to the correctional centres to explain how that happened because we didn’t want non-prisoners to take advantage of the concessions we give to inmates,” Oloyede said.
