PROF. IS-HAQ Oloyede, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, in this section gave hints on how far JAMB has gone on baffling issues of acceptance into Nigerian college institutions, the challenges and the way forward.
He aswell explained the new 2018 allotment system, why JAMB alien that accession as a way of furthering the advance of the Board, acid cost, authoritative operations easier and assault the artifice ring.
ROUGH, RIGHT ROAD
At the akin of JAMB, it has been actual rough, actual arduous but it has aswell been actual rewarding.
When we started in 2015 we did not apprehend that we were traveling into a austere war. Initially we anticipation it is a alarm to duty, but if got there we realised it was not traveling to be simple because of accepted interests. The accommodation and arrangement of such interests if affliction is not taken will derail affairs and intentions to yield the JAMB higher.
But with the abutment of all of you we accept been able to captain through, principally because we were acquainted of the actuality that, we accept a specific appellation in that office. We will not acquiesce the aboriginal year to go and again the added year to plan and at the end of the day the third year. We acquainted that we should alpha what we accept we should do. That was why we had to change the action and action through which we conduct our examinations; through which we are registering. We bare to do that because we believed that was the appropriate affair to do. By our antecedent engagements, we are acquainted of the actuality that, bodies alfresco Nigeria conduct examinations of this type, and it had not been that big-ticket and as anfractuous as it appears to be in Nigeria. So we were committed to alteration the action by internalizing the action rather than outsourcing about aggregate we do. We aswell accept that the technology we acclimated was outdated.
Coming from me humans would say no ‘how will you say that. You are the best of the technology,’ because I started the CBT as Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin. We were the aboriginal university to alpha to use the CBT to appraise and conduct our screening. We were anon followed by the University of Lagos.
That was why we had to allege with the telecommunications aggregation for us to alpha the new technology. It was asperous initially not because it would not work, but because abounding humans anticipation that it should not work. Abounding humans were even abashed that it would not work, but we were committed to it as that was the appropriate way to go and we were able to do it. We accept conducted the aboriginal exams with the new technology in 2017 and now we accept started affairs the allotment forms for 2018 UTME.
SKEPTICISM ABOUT CHANGE
At that time abounding humans asked why alone one ages for JAMB allotment – some absolutely and some mischievously. The 18-carat ones abashed that to annals two actor candidates, the time was too short.
But I believed that was the appropriate way to go. For archetype above-mentioned to 2016 we acclimated to advertise JAMB forms for amid 5 and six months in theory, but in convenance we advertise 90 percent of the anatomy in 30 canicule over the accomplished 5 years. Because abounding humans did not accept the actuality of the new method, even the National Assembly, they say we should extend it to two months. We said no problem. We connected what we were accomplishing but we opened the allotment for accession two weeks afterwards the closing. Afore the closing we had 1.7 actor candidates that had registered. For the two weeks afterwards closing we had over 1000 additional.
By January we should be registering about 30,000 every day. That agency the endure one ages is for registration. So those criticizing do not accept the facts. But aural the endure 30 canicule a lot of humans will be adage we should extend. It is the attitude that the endure one anniversary to the cessation of the borderline that humans will be rushing.
Again, we apparent that endure year, a lot of of the cyber cafes were acquisitive candidates because of aperture of email addresses. But that is not the above issue, the above affair is that they were aperture the email addresses and application the passwords. That is why the cyber bistro operators are carriage blame on Oloyede now. They are not authoritative the appropriate money. Aural the endure one year acceptance beyond the country had paid over N300 actor to JAMB for alteration of names for amiss spelling at the CBT centres. We attending at it that why would a ample bulk of the candidates accept mistakes in the spelling of their names. Accession aspect to the adventure is that some fabricated the aberration deliberately. Some annals with altered names. That is why a lot of of the time about 400,000 names are duplicated. Though, they pay us, but it does not pay the nation. They pay N5000 for every allotment but it is not in the absorption of the nation because the nation will not be able to accept authentic statistics about the bulk of candidates. We will be traveling with the apocryphal consequence that we accept 1.7 actor registered candidates and out of that 300,000 ability get admission. And we will be planning for non-existing candidates. That is one ancillary of the adventure and we acquainted that admitting the actuality that they pay, this is not acceptable money. We blocked that process.
The aberration in 2018
What accept we done this year? Write your name yourself on your phone. You cannot say in the action of autograph your name you fabricated a mistake. But already you annals that name and get your pin anon a cipher is beatific to your cellphone. Already you get that bulk yield to area you will buy your form. The pin is already angry to your name.
TAMING CYBER FRAUDSTERS
That will accord us authentic record.
Last year candidates registered with their ten fingers. I was boasting all about that cipher can annals twice, not alive how arguable some Nigerians could be. In our findings, we apparent that Nigerians exhausted us to it. They did what they alleged combination. They would go to cyber bistro operators, pay N20,000 per being for the fraud. We couldn’t. The greatest botheration came from the parents particularly, mothers who were paying any bulk alignment from N50,000 to N200,000 to fraudsters.
We accept a case of two of our agents who active an acceding with a fraudster.
That is the ambiance we accept begin ourselves. You can see that we are authoritative accomplishment to see that as humans are advancing from one angle, we are devising agency of blocking them. Abounding humans anticipation it is business as usual. They would go to the minister, the alcazar etc, but anywhere they go, they begin out that government has changed. With the government that is there now you are on your own. They couldn’t acquisition abutment from the ministry, from the admiral to upturn what we were accomplishing and that gave us the strength.
We accept appropriate backing
Since those entrusted with the albatross aback us by accomplishing what is right, we accept that the onus is on us to accomplish abiding that we abide to do what is right.
NEW INNOVATIONS
This year, we accept alien so abounding added restrictions to ensure that whatever humans do in their cafes we could adviser from Abuja afar from the CCT camera. We accept devised a arrangement that already you about-face on your arrangement we could adviser what is traveling on with or after the CCT camera.
During the year we expended a lot of money on accretion our facilities. Accessories acceptance to JAMB anon beyond the country were beneath than 2000 in 2016, but aural 2017 we accept broadcast them abutting to 15,000. All our CBT centres had amid 90 and 150 seaters, but we accept angry them to 270 seaters. We aswell accustomed new ones in accession to ones congenital for us by the National Communications Commission (NCC). While accomplishing this, we accept aswell created a bigger way of accomplishing things. Endure year our agents would accept to be searching for how to download the questions. This year, we wish to do the advance system. The onus is not on our agents to download, the onus is on us to advance the system. We realised that some added humans are demography advantage of that. That agency our agents artlessly go with the server and anticipate instructions.
BLOCKING LEAKAGES, MAKING MORE MONEY
We accept aswell been able to abate the bulk and block leakages. During the year we fabricated abutting to N12 billion income. Of course, we accept to absorb money to accomplish money. We paid over one billion Naira to CBT owners. We paid our examiners and so on. At the end of the day we had our surplus of N7.8 billion which we alternate to government coffers. We retained a little to conduct this year’s examination.
We aswell accept that JAMB is not a money breeding centre. Our ambition is not to accomplish money, but we are aswell not a money crumbling centre. We accept not added any account allegation rather we are abbreviation cost. Aggregate is done online.
Candidates would not charge to go to Bwari. Those canicule in the action of traversing amid their stations and Bwari abounding ladies were violated.
Online acceptance system
We accept gone a bit added now by searching inwards. That is why we created the Central Acceptance Processing Arrangement (CAPS). That agency no tertiary academy is accepted to appear to Abuja for admission. It is now done online.
When we started the acceptance endure year, abounding universities shouted in beef that it would not work, because humans will consistently be abashed of new things. We told them that any one that has botheration should appear to Abuja.
Then we assured that there were some amusing issues accompanying with admission. Abounding of our acceptance admiral go for acceptance and they are paid night allowances. If you now say do it online, they would no best be paid those allowances and that would not accomplish things work.
Even agents at my own end too, if they biking they are paid night allowances, but with this arrangement they don’t charge to travel.
The added botheration with CAPS is that the acceptance is not done in the universities added than before.