No candidate will be allowed to use wrist watches and pens during the 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The ban of the materials was announced by the board’s Registrar, Professor Is’haq Oloyede on Wednesday in Lagos when speaking with journalists on the sideline of the sensitisation workshop for Computer Based Test (CBT) centre owners on Wednesday in Lagos.
According to him, the workshop was to appraise the registration and conduct of the 2017 examination.
His words: “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 also announced that the sale of the form for the 2018 UTME would commence very soon.
“We are planning to meet with all stakeholders on November 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 occur during the registration process,” he said.
He added that about 617 centres had been accredited nationwide for the exercise.
Said he: “We are still considering about 60 more centres as we have their applications waiting for consideration.
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“However, a total of 72 centres nationwide have earlier been delisted owing to their involvement in some infractions and they remain delisted.”
Oloyede said the plan for mega centres was still on, but that it would 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.
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 deligence during the 2017 examination, we want to seize this opportunity to inform you of the flagging off of the 2018 excercise.
“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.
