Richard Ginika Izuora
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB has threatened to deal with operators of unlicensed cybercafes and tutorial centres who specialise in defrauding unsuspecting candidates during registration for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The JAMB issued the warning in the board’s weekly bulletin – Vol. 2, No 18; on Thursday, April 8, in Abuja.
It noted with serious concerns activities of fraudulent operators of cybercafes; tutorial centres; and other entities, in the habit of deceiving unsuspecting candidates; by using the board’s logo and name to defraud and extort them.
“The stock-in-trade of these unscrupulous elements is to lure innocent candidates to part with their money; under the guise of registering them for the 2021 to 2022 UTME/DE application documents.
“It is a criminal offence for one to use the board’s name and logo when one is not licensed by the board to do so for any reason.
“Anybody not licensed by the board to register candidates and who goes ahead to print banners advertising the board’s services would be arrested and prosecuted,’’ it said.
Going forward the board and various security agencies would comb the streets across the country; to ensure that such illegal activities were curtailed.
The board said that registration will take place in 700 centres nationwide; adding the list of the centres would be available in all state offices and on JAMB’S website.
It also stated that registration for the exercise will begin on April 8 and end on May 15.
“All potential candidates must have the National Identity Number (NIN) for the registration,’’ it said.
JAMB stated that the registration fee for the 202 to 2022 application documents remained N3, 500 and N500 for the recommended “Reading Text’’, while centres must not charge for service above N700.
It also said that there would be no extension of time for the sale of the application documents.
According JAMB, the mock examination will hold on April 30 for those who indicates interest and are registered before April 24.
“UTME will hold from Saturday, June 5 to Saturday, June 19, 2021,’’ the board said.