The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced the resumption of 2023 Direct Entry registration nationwide and the new guideline.
This was disclosed by the JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, during a press briefing in Abuja on March 20, 2023, said the registration would elapse on April 28, 2023.
Oloyede stressed on the high level of falsification of O-Level certificates used for the registration of the direct entry. Although, the JAMB Registrar said the council has brought up a new guidelines to limit the excesses.
He said, “You will recall that the board commenced the 2023 Direct Entry registration on Monday, 20th February, 2023, but had to immediately suspend it following the discovery of the plethora of devices and machinations to circumvent and compromise the standard of O’ Level qualifications required from the candidates.
“Recall that recent joint operations of the Federal Ministry of Education and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on DE qualifications brought to light some of these unsavoury and nefarious activities.
“Bayero University, Kano has also consistently brought to the fore the high rate of forgery of O’ Level qualifications. For instance, it was discovered that in previous years, some candidates used unacceptable and forged O’ level certificates/qualifications to register for Direct Entry and eventually got admitted.
“For example, out of 148 candidates verified by BUK, only six were found to be genuine. By implication, 142 of the results were forged. The Board, concerned stakeholders and institutions are working assiduously to detect such and the ones already found are being dealt with according to the provisions of the law.”
According to Oloyede, the Board would only accept 13 qualifications/certificates for the 2023 Direct Entry registration, which include; first degree, university diploma, Higher National Diploma, Ordinary National Diploma /National Diploma and Nigeria Certificate in Education.
“Others are Interim Joint Matriculation Board A’ Level, Joint Universities Preliminary Examination Board A’ Level, NABTEB Advanced National Business Certificate, NABTEB Advanced National Technical Certificate, NABTEB GCE-A’ Level (2015 – 2021), Higher Islamic Studies Certificate by NBAIS, International Baccalaureate and the National Registered Nurse /National Registered Midwife.”
He disclosed that, the 127 candidates who had earlier registered for the 2023 Direct Entry before the exercise have been suspended, and would be referred back to registration centres to update their application.
The JAMB chieftain noted that the data bank put in place to address challenges associated with the O’ Level qualifications had now been renamed as ‘Nigeria Post-secondary Education Data System’.
“The Board has instituted some measures which are to be deployed during the 2023 UTME exercise. Despite the fact that the innovations have been tested and certified, yet it is not unlikely that some hiccups might spring up when the new technology is deployed live and nationwide.
“We therefore solicit your support and understanding as we promptly address any unforeseen circumstances. One major feature of the new dispensation is that no examination would be allowed to take place after one hour of its scheduled start time because the Board has discovered that some of the problems reported at the centres are contrived to delay the commencement of a session in some centres with a view to securing undue advantage for the delayed candidates.
“Consequently, any session that, for whatever reason(s), could not take off within one hour of its schedule is automatically rescheduled. When such occurs, affected candidates are expected to file out of the examination hall into the waiting hall and await the new scheduled time and place which most likely would be the same or following day.”