The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has warned financial institutions participating in the sale of its application documents for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) against extortion of candidates. The board stated that only its accredited financial institutions would be allowed to vend its e-PINs.
The registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, at a session with financial institutions recently, stated that all participating vendors/tellers must indicate interest and register with the board for ease of identification and record keeping.
While thanking the financial institutions for their support to the JAMB over the years, he said their timely and priceless ideas and suggestions have helped to drastically reduce the financial burden of its transactions and transformed the financial processes of the board to one that is in tune with modern dictates.
Oloyede admonished vendors to be upright in their dealings with the aspiring UTME/DE candidates so as not to run foul of its extant rules of engagement. He said, in the past, payment for Mock-UTME was made to the CBT centres on the day of the examination.
However, it was observed that most candidates, who had indicated interest to sit the exam ended up not showing up for the examination resulting in waste of manpower and material resources.
The registrar disclosed that it was this development that made the board to impose a fee of N1,000 payable at the point of registration by candidates interested in taking the Mock-UTME to ensure their commitment.
While rolling out the rates, the registrar warned against any form of extortion and untoward acts that could jeopardise the noble aspirations of the board in rendering seasmless serves to prospective candidates desirous of further education.
He reminded all financial institutions that they would be held accountable for the actions of their sub-agents and, as such, were to ensure that only credible staff were employed to man their operations.
He said candidates have the options of paying through Banks, Mobile Money Operators and online payment on the JAMB portal through Remita/Interswitch), among others.
The Registrar, while explaining the seamless payment process, said each candidate must have obtained the National Identification Number (NIN) as that is the gateway to the registration because the candidates would first create a profile by sending their NIN, followed by a space, then the eleven-digit number (NIN) to 55019 or 66019.
He stressed that all transactions at the CBT centres would be cashless to prevent warehousing and extortion of candidates. He disclosed that the Board shall collect all payments to centres and remitted to the centres on a weekly basis.
Furthermore, the Registrar explained that the cell phone number used for sending the NIN to 55019 is automatically tied to the candidate’s name supplied by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and would be used in all communications related to the candidate’s application and examination.
According to him, after sending a message to 55019, candidates will receive on their phones, a 10-digit profile code and the registered name with NIMC, which would be presented at the point of procurement of e-PINs (Banks, USSD, sales outlets, vendors etc.).
Afterwards, the e-PIN would be sent as a text message to candidates after the payment of all necessary fees. The candidate will present the e-PIN at any JAMB-accredited CBT centre for registration. The sale of the 2023 UTME application documents commenced on Saturday, January 14th, 2023 and would end on Tuesday, 14th February 2023.