The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), organisers of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), has banned the use of wrist watches and pens during the conduct of its 2018 test.

The board’s Registrar, Prof. Is’haq Oloyede, disclosed this to newsmen on the sideline of a one-day sensitisation workshop for Computer Based Test (CBT) centre owners on Wednesday in Lagos.

According to him, the essence of the workshop is to appraise the registration and conduct of the 2017 examination.

“What we are doing here today is to appraise the registration and conduct of our past examination and we have taken some lessons from our experience.

“To this end therefore we have introduced some measures that will further add to the integrity of the registration process as well as the conduct of the examination proper.

“For instance, we discovered during the conduct of the last examination that some electronic devices such as pens, wristwatches and other devices were used to perpetrate examination malpractice.

“So, for next year, we have banned the use of wristwatches and pens by candidates and other persons in the examination hall.

“We are also going to introduce some detection devices to ensure that those who plan to cheat in the examination hall are frustrated, as we will also jam (communication network) of the centres,” he said.

Oloyede noted that the sale of the registration document for the 2018 UTME would commence before the end of November.

“We are planning to meet with all stakeholders on Nov. 15 and the sale of the registration document will definitely commence before the end of this month.

“But before that, we expect candidates to go and download our app, go to our website and download the syllabus and brochure, so that they can now study the process.

“This is in order to minimise the errors that usually occurs during the registration process,” he said.

The JAMB boss added that not less than 617 centres have been accredited nationwide for the exercise.

“We are still considering about 60 more centres as we have their applications waiting for consideration.

“However, a total of 72 centres nationwide have earlier been delisted owing to their involvement in some infractions and they remain delisted.”

On the board’s plan to construct mega CBT centres for its examinations, Oloyede said: “The mega centre plan is still on, we said that last year.

“But the process of planning will take some time.

“There will be design, there will be contact with private operators, just as there will be advertisements and also due process will be followed,” he said.

Earlier, Oloyede called for the support of the CBT centre owners in checking anti-examination activities capable of compromising the examination.

“While thanking you for your diligence during the 2017 examination, we want to seize this opportunity to inform you of the flagging off of the 2018 exercise.

“We will like to also assure you that we will make use of the best CBT centres in the coming examination.

“You will be culpable if you do not expose any CBT centre that is doing what is evil because they will attract condemnation from all of us.

“It is on this premise that we are appealing that you assist us in identifying the bad eggs among you and ensuring that they do not participate in our activities,” he said.

According to him, monitoring starts from the time of arrival of the centre owners to the workshop.

He added that during the 2018 UTME examination, the board would include some other requirements for CBT centres.

“We are not going to accept wireless CCTV cameras. Any examination conducted in any CBT centre that we cannot monitor from Abuja will not be paid for.

“The onus is on you to ensure that your CCTV are working and must be on and no CBT centre is allowed to sell any kind of materials under the guise of past questions.

“We will also not tolerate candidates leaving the centre to go out to use the toilet. It is expected that all accredited CBT centres have an in-house convenience,” Oloyede said. (NAN)

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