UTME candidates in last-minute rush as 1.9 million register

Candidates for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry examination (DE) are in last-minute rush to register for the examination at the various Computer-Based Test Centres across the country.

The registration for the examinations, which opened on January 13, 2020, ends on Sunday across the country.

About 1,900,000 million candidates have registered for the examination which will hold from March 14 to April 4 this year in 747 CBT centres nationwide.

This is the first time 1.9 million candidates will apply for the examination in the history of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

Last year, 1.8 million candidates registered for the examination.

An optional mock examination for candidates to familiarise themselves with the process will hold on February 18.

At the Global Distance Learning Institute, Central Business District, candidates were seen in last-minute rush to register.

The Training Manager of the centre, Mr Emeka Nwanaka, confirmed the last-minute rush ian interview, saying that there were no issues of biometric failure as witnessed last year.

Nwanaka said that over 5000 UTME/DE candidates had registered at the centre as at Friday.

He said: “We have registered over 5000 candidates at the centre. We are hoping that as the network remains intact, we can still carry out more registrations. For the biometrics, we have not received any incident so far unlike last year’s registration.

“As the deadline approaches, the population has increased by 75 per cent. That has also led to an increase in our working hours. Sometimes, we leave here by 9pm.”

JAMB’s Head of Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, confirmed the 1.9 million registered candidates in an interview, saying the board would not extend the deadline for registration.

Benjamin said: “The registration closes on Monday night. As I speak to you, we have registered over 1.9 million. That is the highest we have ever had in the 41-year history of the board. Right now, we have surpassed the last year’s statistics at 1.8 million. That is to tell you that nobody has an excuse of why he or she could not register.

“On the February 18 mock, we have put everything in place. Our workers who are deployed for the exercise are already on the field. And as you are aware, the essence of the mock is to test the readiness of our facilities and also give the candidates the opportunity to have a hands-on experience on the computers.”