The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has cleared the air over reports suggesting that Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates are restricted to taking exams only within the state where they registered. The examination board firmly stated that this claim is false and misleading.
In a statement released on Wednesday by Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, the board noted that candidates can register from any part of Nigeria and take the examination in any town of their choice, regardless of where they registered.
“In a recent interview with a NAN reporter, I clarified that candidates are not restricted to taking the examination within their state of registration. They have the flexibility to register anywhere in the country and select any town nationwide from any registration point,” Benjamin said.
He explained that the examination is organized in Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, which are grouped by towns for convenience. This gives candidates the option to pick the exact town where they want to write the exam during registration.
“For example, if a candidate selects Garki as their examination town, they must take the exam there and cannot do so or be posted, as alleged at times, to a different town,” he added.
Benjamin noted that it is important for candidates and the general public to get accurate information to avoid confusion and panic. The board also assured students who may have registered in one state and picked an exam town in another that their choices are valid and will be honoured.
“For instance, a candidate can register in Lagos and opt to take the examination in Sokoto or any other location,” he said.
According to him, this policy was put in place to give room for convenience and ease, especially for candidates who might have relocated after registration or prefer a different town due to personal reasons.
He added that the misleading report being circulated is completely false and should be disregarded.
“We urge the public to disregard the erroneous report from NAN in its entirety,” he concluded.
