The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is to fully automate its services to reduce physical contact with candidates as part of measures to prevent extortion and enhance service delivery.
The arrangement, according to JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, would ensure that the Board” ‘s personnel would only interact with candidates online.
Oloyede spoke during a meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Polytechnics Students (NAPS) in Abuja recently.
There had been reports of extortion and other unlawful practices between candidates and some service personnel.
According to the Registrar, the Board had received a series of reports about unwholesome practices, adding that a team had been deployed to investigate the claims promising to make the findings known to all.
He urged students who had accused some JAMB officials and other operatives such as CBT centres of extortion in the name of ‘regularization’ or other services to provide credible evidence, adding that any staff found culpable would face the full wrath of the law.
Meanwhile, Prof Oloyede commended the staff of the Board for their honesty and diligence, saying, “In terms of honesty, I can vouch for over 99 per cent of JAMB staff, but any bad eggs will be identified and dealt with appropriately,”
Furthermore, Prof Oloyede stated that given that many of the candidates who take the UTME are underage, the Board is considering limiting physical contact with those with challenges to avoid any alleged issue of extortion and other forms of exploitation.
He said that in due course, interactions would be limited to online ones with calls recorded for effective monitoring and quality control.
