JAMB Directs Arrest Of Any Parent Found Near CBT Centre

BY NGOZI NWANKWO, ABUJA – The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has directed Computer-Based Test (CBT), centres owners to arrest any parent found near any of their facilities during the 2024 UTME exercise.

The directive was issued at the final briefing of the Computer-Based Test (CBT), centre owners which took place virtually on Thursday.

The Board said that the directive became necessary following the intrusive disposition of some parents during its previous exercises.

Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, pointedly said that any parent, who disobeys this order, would not only be arrested but his ward would also be disqualified from sitting the examination.

The JAMB Registrar explained that the measure was necessary as it has been discovered over time that many of the intruding parents are facilitators of examination infractions while others have, by their actions, disrupted the Board’s examinations in the past.

Oloyede noted that some miscreants also disguise as parents to infiltrate the centres to perpetrate all forms of infractions, adding that the Board has directed security operatives to work with the centres to apprehend any meddlesome parent, who goes near the centres.

He noted that going by the extant of the national policy on education, a candidate for the examination must have attained the age of 17 years.

Oloyede said; “Therefore, it is evident that these parents had not allowed their wards to pass through the classes as defined in the document, hence, the determination to follow their wards to the examination venue with the aim of compromising examination officials.

“At any rate, it is clear to any discerning observer that these parents deserve to be sanctioned as they had obviously ‘smuggled’ underage children into the ranks of those scheduled to sit the examination,” he said.

He therefore advised candidates to jealously guard their personal details, e-mail address, as well as their registration and phone numbers against the backdrop of some candidates, who might be enticed into patronising any of those fraudulent websites out there.

Consequently, the Board informed candidates that if their personal details are found with any of such sites, they would be treated as accomplices and prosecuted.

The Registrar said all arrangements have been concluded for the conduct of the 2024 UTME, which will be held in over 700 CBT centres across the nation.

Oloyede also said that the Board expects a seamless exercise but, nevertheless made adequate provision to tackle any technical glitch that might occur in the course of the examination.

He however, explained that if a session experienced any technical challenge, candidates in subsequent sessions would be allowed to sit their examination as scheduled while the candidates in the challenged session would be rescheduled for the last session for the day or the following day depending on the centre schedules.

According to him; “Candidates are to take note of this so that they will remain calm in the event of any disruption. In this wise, any candidate or parent, who disrupt any subsequent session on account of the failure of his/her session, would be disqualified outrightly from taking the examination”.

The Registrar noted that CBT centres were allowed to register Direct Entry candidates, saying that the practice was discontinued owing to the predilection of some of them to engage in fraudulent acts in spite of the many opportunities that the Board created especially by ensuring that other agencies patronise them.

The Registrar expressed shock over multiple intelligence showing how the CBT centres have been making efforts to compromise the Board’s staff especially with the offer of accommodation and asked why they would want to do that when they constantly complain that what is paid them is not enough.

Oloyede said the centres should not hesitate to expose any staff, who ask for such favours as the Board had sufficiently paid its staff for the exercise in line with government regulations.

The Registrar informed the participants that the Board had deployed state-of-the-art technologies to check all manners of infractions, collaborations and other unsavoury acts that are at variance with its code of operations.