JAMB to start allowing students to use mobile phones for UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB ) has said it contemplating a new policy to allow the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates to write the examinations with their phones and other devices.

The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede disclosed this in Abuja on Saturday at the 2023 Policy Meeting on Admissions to Tertiary Institutions.

According to him, the proposed policy was based on the rising cost of logistics in taking the UTME nationwide.

He further said that it cost JAMB over N1.2 billion to equip a Computer Based Test (CBT) centre in Kaduna state, particularly in procuring computers that candidates use to take the examination.

”The policy which falls under the “Bring Your Own Device” may require candidates wishing to take UTME in the future to bring their own devices to the examination hall,” he said.

At the policy meeting, the registrar expressed concern over the craving for university education among candidates to the detriment of polytechnics and colleges of education.

While condemning the wide disparity in admission quotas in the country, he advised aspiring candidates to explore other options within the tertiary education sector for admission.

Meanwhile, Miss Umeh Kamsiyochukwu Nkechinyere, a female candidate from Anambra state, has been confirmed by the board as the best candidate in the 2023 UTME after scoring 360.

Nkechinyere sat for the examination in Ogun State, and applied to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) to study chemical engineering.

Similarly, a male candidate from Edo State, Aguele Stephen Oseruha, was confirmed by JAMB as second best in the examination scoring 358.