616,100 candidates to write UTME as JAMB fixes May 17-31 for exams in Nigeria

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Wednesday fixed May 17 to 31 for the conduct of 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) through Computer Based Test (CBT).
A statement by Mr Fabian Gabriel, Head of Public Relations of the board, said the CBT will take place in over 163 centres in Nigeria and abroad, adding that the date was sacrosanct.
The exam body urged the candidates to reprint their e-slip if they missed or misplaced their schedules.

“Over 616,000 candidates are expected to sit for the examination with over 250 prisoners in Kaduna and Ikoyi prisons,” it added.
“The CBT remains the best mode as it provides better platform for the candidates to articulate their educational pursuit.
“It eliminates result black-out or incomplete results and eliminates examination malpractice and enhances prompt release of scores two hours after the examination, among other benefits too numerous to mention,” the statement said.
It added that the board was determined to go full-blown with CBT in 2015 UTME, owing to the success recorded in 2013 and the quests to sanitise the education sector.
The statement said that CBT was introduced in 2012 while the maiden edition was conducted in the 2013 UTME alongside the conventional Paper Pencil Test and Dual Based Test.

It quoted Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, Registrar of JAMB, as saying that the desire to go full swing with CBT in 2015 was non-negotiable and enjoined Nigerians to see it as a revolution in the examination industry.