The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has suspended the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for candidates sitting for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) according to a Channels Television report.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had disclosed that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will have registration centres around computer-based test (CBT) centres across the country for candidates who do not have the NIN to avoid difficulties in registering and writing the examination.
Prof. Oloyede, during a meeting with commissioners of education from the 36 states of the federation and other stakeholders, stressed that the need to introduce the initiative was based on the law made by the National Assembly, and anybody that fails to implement the NIN is liable on conviction.
The decision to suspend the process is coming on the heels of criticisms about the timing of the new policy by the examination body and the difficulty in obtaining the NIN.
Prof. Oloyede who stated this during a press briefing said the decision to suspend the policy is to allow enough time for candidates to acquire their NIN.
Registration for the 2020 JAMB UTME is expected to commence on January 13, and it stated that candidates can now apply with or without the NIN.
Meanwhile, NIMC had announced that Candidates for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in Abuja, Lagos and Kano will get another opportunity to obtain the National Identification Number on Saturday.
Possession of the NIN is a mandatory requirement for participation in the examination, which will start on Monday.
The National Identity Management Commission announced on its twitter handle on Friday that enrolment centres in Abuja, Lagos and Kano would open on Saturday to enrol the UTME/DE candidates.
The tweet explained that only candidates for the examination would be registered in the three cities on Saturday.
The public notice read, “All NIMC enrolment centres in Abuja, Kano and Lagos will open on Saturday, January 11, 2020 to enrol UTME/DE candidates only.
“Candidates should come along with their school means of identification and required documents for the NIN enrolment exercise.”
The development followed difficulties being experienced by candidates and other Nigerians, who are seeking to obtain the NIN.
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board had on October 17, 2019, said only candidates with the NIN would be registered for the 2020 UTME.
The inability of some candidates to obtain the NIN as of Thursday and slow pace of registration and long queues at the enrolment centres had led to calls on JAMB to reverse the decision.
But the examination body had insisted that there was no going back on the policy on NIN.
Corrupt NIMC officers and touts have cashed on hitches in the enrolment exercise to extort money from JAMB candidates and other Nigerians.
It was gathered that touts and the NIMC officers were demanding between N500 and N2,000 from candidates.
NIMC had announced that it was working with JAMB to ensure that all UTME /DE candidates were enrolled before the examination.
