UTME: JAMB restates banned items from exam halls
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has insisted that the use of electronic devices by candidates during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) remained prohibited.
The agency said electronic devices like mobile phones, calculators, wristwatches and recorders won’t be allowed into any of its centres by candidates during this year’s examination.
The banned items were listed in its Weekly Bulletin obtained by Business247news at the weekend.
Some of the banned items include: spy reading glasses, cameras, ear piece, Bluetooth devices, USB, CD, hard disk and other similar storage devices.
Others are: pen/biro, smart lenses, books or any reading/writing material, ink/pen readers, key holders, ATM cards, erasers and smart rings/jewelries.
JAMB states: “To ensure that the board’s examinations meet best global practice, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has prohibited the use of the items during examinations.
“Candidates are hereby advised in their best interest not to bring these items close to the examination venue. Any breach of this directive would bar the candidates from taking the examination.”
JAMB’s spokesperson Dr. Fabian Benjamin said candidates have been complying with the directives since it was introduced by the agency.
Benjamin stated that some candidates, who breached the directive and brought some of the devices to the hall, were caught and handed over to security agencies.
According to him, the essence of the ban is to ensure that JAMB’s examination meets global best practice.
He said: “Candidates have been complying. The board had provided lockers where candidates can lock their personal belongings. However, if you are caught in the hall with any of them, certainly you would be sanctioned.
“Last year, we caught a lady that had a phone in her private part and she was taken to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and she was prosecuted.”
In the same vein, Chairman, Governing Board of JAMB, Dr. Emmanuel Ndukwe, attributed the ban on cyber café from handling its registration on the need to have a seamless, free from all kinds of infractions registration process.
Ndukwe noted that the ban became inevitable following the review of the activities of cybercafé operators.
He explained that registration was a vital component of any successful examination and as such, it should not be marred by extortion, mismatched data and poor technical know-how.
He added that the agency would continue to define the code of operations with a view to enhancing the system for the benefit of all candidates.
The chairman said: “At the UNILAG stakeholders’ meeting held on 21st December, 2018, it was agreed that the ban on cybercafés’ and all other places that are not CBT centres should be sustained to avoid discrepancies in candidates’ data and prevent sundry fraudulent acts.
“Any centre we find not complying with our ethics of registration will be sanctioned and we believe this is the way to go in ensuring that the right things are done.
“All requirements had been defined and agreed upon by the board and centres owners. The cost of the e-pins has been slashed by the Federal Government and nobody should be allowed to do otherwise.”
He stated that JAMB has not foreclose the possibility of cybercafés participating in the registration exercise, insisting that they must meet certain standards before they can be allowed to operate.
“Once it meets the board’s expectations, a cybercafé could be upgraded to a CBT centre,” he said.
