All is set for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination being conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). It will kick-off tomorrow.
About 1,837,011 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates will begin jostling for the 500,000 admission spaces in public universities in the country from tomorrow.
The examination, which is computer-based, will be conducted in 645 centres approved by JAMB nationwide. The examination will last for nine days (from May 6 to 14).
Of the 1,837,011 registered candidates, 1,769,197 registered for UTME and 100,153 registered for the direct entry examination.
Last year, the board registered 1,338,687 candidates for the UTME and 75,328 for direct entry.
For those sitting for the examination, the board has handed down rules that candidates should obey.
The board warned candidates against bringing electronic gadgets and other unauthorised materials like eyeglasses (unless recommended); USB, fez caps, calculator, tape recorder, camera, wristwatches, bangles, and cell phones, among others, into the examination hall.
It said these items remained banned in the examination hall during the conduct of the UTME.
The board said these through its Head, Public Affairs and Protocols (PAP), Dr. Fabian Benjamin.
Arrival at exam venues
The examination body admonished candidates to arrive at the venues of their examination one hour before its commencement. Benjamin said this would afford the candidates the opportunity to go through biometric verification prior to their admittance into the examination hall.
He warned that any candidate who is 30 minutes late into the examination venue would not be allowed to sit for the examination.
The JAMB spokesperson advised candidates to strictly adhere to the examination schedule as stated in their notification slips, which would be made available to them in due course and would feature the venue, scheduled date, session and time of the examination.
“All candidates are required to be seated only in the allotted seats assigned to them and should follow the instructions as issued out to them by the examination officials and should not attempt to leave the examination hall until one hour after the commencement of the examination,” he said.
Adhering strictly to examination etiquette
Benjamin reminded the prospective candidates of the need to adhere strictly to the examination etiquette, warning that a stiff penalty awaited anyone who ran afoul of the laid-down rules and regulations governing the examination. He reiterated the zero-tolerance of the board for examination infractions and other unwholesome practices that could undermine the sanctity of its examination.
He maintained that as a responsible organisation, the board was, as usual, committed to providing a level-playing field for all candidates in the upcoming UTME.
Benjamin said: “The board’s UTME, apart from being a medium for assessing candidates’ ability, is also used to rank their performance in a cohort of aspirants for tertiary education.”
Benjamin said: “The board’s UTME, apart from being a medium for assessing candidates’ ability, is also used to rank their performance in a cohort of aspirants for tertiary education.”
The UTME, as a standardised test, is guided by rules and regulations that must be strictly followed by both the examiners and candidates to arrive at a valid and specific objective, he said.
He went on: “Examination etiquette is encapsulated in the candidates’ code of conduct comprising rules and regulations that must be followed by all candidates before, during and after the examination.
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