Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has continued to explain the unusual delay in releasing the result of over 1.7 million candidates who sat for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Expectedly, the delay has created room for anxiety and suspicion. It has also created opportunity for fraudsters operating under the guise of Computer Based Test (CBT), centre and some acclaimed agents of JAMB to deceive some uninformed candidates.

JAMB spokesman, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, who spoke to our correspondent in Abuja, on Saturday, appreciated the anxiety and concerns of candidates and requested that they allow JAMB to do the necessary things before releasing the result.

Fabian recalled that the result of the 2017 UTME exercise, which was the first examination conducted by Prof. Ishaq Oloyede as JAMB Registrar, was released to candidates as they were submitting the questions.

He said that the same thing happened in 2018, but with a hint that JAMB won’t release the result instantly in subsequent examinations, because JAMB Registrar had discovered that public outcry over little delay in the release of result made it a little bit difficult to do things that would guarantee the credibility of the result.

He insisted that many candidates had in the past, escaped with illegitimate acts they perpetrated during the UTME exercise, and that won’t be allowed to continue.

He insisted that subsequently, he would take his time and scrutinise the outcome of the exercise, to ensure that tertiary institutions are proud of whatever they get from JAMB.

“We are gatekeepers but the entire security system of the house could be compromised, if we refuse to keep the gate.”

The JAMB spokesman added: “We would strictly follow the process so that we can get it right. We are less concerned about the time, but (more about) how well and credible (the results become); neither policy meeting nor admission will start this month. So, the delay will not affect any item on our timetable.

“The UTME results are intact and nothing has happened to them. No server has crashed and no other major challenge. The 2019 UTME exercise recorded malpractices but they were not as bad as they used to be.

“Even in previous examinations, there were malpractices but nobody noticed because of the way we handled them. We are not ashamed to admit that there are issues. But our pride is in getting it right. Once we get it right, it will serve as a message that it’s no longer business as usual.

“Illegality had thrived in the society of over the years because people failed to follow issues to (their) logical conclusion. But we have decided to do otherwise, and we need the support of Nigerians to achieve that.”

He assured that JAMB would come up with clean and credible result that everyone would be proud of. “Tertiary institutions who are our end users would also be proud of it.

“Our target is that candidates that commit any offence should not go unpunished. At same time, we don’t want any innocent candidate to be punished unjustly,” he said. (Saturday Sun)

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