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The 2024 UTME, for candidates seeking admission into
tertiary institutions across Nigeria, will begin on April 19 and end on April
29.
The exam is usually held across pre-vetted and accredited
CBT centres situated within academic institutions nationwide.
JAMB had shortlisted 907 CBT centres for accreditation and
certified 747 for the 2024 UTME after revalidation and integrity tests.
The board conducted a mock UTME on March 7 with 260,000
candidates to determine preparedness for the main exam.
However, a total of 25 centres were recently published on
JAMB’s weekly bulletin as having been delisted.
These centres are in Delta, Ondo, Lagos, Imo, Plateau,
Enugu, Anambra, Ogun, Osun, Benue, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Kaduna, Kwara, Zamfara,
and Abuja.
Notably, the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) centre 2 in
Kwara state was delisted.
CBT centres, ahead of a UTME run, could be delisted for a
variety of reasons.
When contacted Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s head of public
affairs, to ascertain why these centres were delisted post-accreditation.
The spokesperson did not respond to repeated calls and text
messages seeking insight on the matter.
Kunle Akogun, the media spokesperson at UNILORIN, told
TheCable that the institution is in talks with the board on the issue.
“There is no cause for alarm. We are on top of the
situation. From the updated list of accredited centres at our disposal, our
three centres were listed. We have a meeting with JAMB this morning over the
issue,” he said on Wednesday.
In January, JAMB hosted a stakeholders meeting which
stipulated requirements that CBT centres must meet to participate in its 2024
UTME run.
It said the centres must have a CCTV surveillance system,
none of which must be wireless.
The board said the CCTV cameras must cover all areas of the
exam centre, including the verification area, holding room, walkways, exam
hall, server room, entrance, and exit doors.
JAMB said all switches in the exam halls must be connected
to a UPS and a quarter of the total number of switches used at a centre must be
available as backup.
It said these would be tested during accreditation,
mock, and before dummy examinations.
JAMB said holding rooms must be in good proximity to the
exam hall and be adequately sized.
It said make-shift CBT centres are not allowed and that all
centres must be dedicated CBT centres being used and maintained as such.
JAMB said each centre must have at least 250 functional
laptop systems with individual cubicles and an appropriate seat made available
for each system.
As of the time of this reporting, it is not clear what core
requirements the delisted centres violated.