JAMB Issues Arrest Orders for Parents Found Near UTME CBT Centers

April 18, 2024

Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the Registrar of JAMB, emphasized that any parent failing to comply with the directive would not only face arrest but would also lead to disqualification of their ward from participating in the examination

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has instructed security personnel and Computer-Based Test (CBT) center owners to apprehend any parent discovered near their facilities during the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

In a statement released by JAMB spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, on Thursday, it was disclosed that this directive came during the final briefing of CBT owners, conducted virtually on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

JAMB highlighted that this directive was prompted by the intrusive behavior of some parents during previous examinations.

Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the Registrar of JAMB, emphasized that any parent failing to comply with the directive would not only face arrest but would also lead to disqualification of their ward from participating in the examination.

“This measure is necessary as it has been discovered over time that many of these intruding parents are facilitators of examination infractions while others have, by their actions, disrupted the Board’s examinations in the past. Some miscreants also disguise themselves as parents to infiltrate the centres and perpetrate all forms of infractions,” the statement said.

Consequently, the Registrar disclosed that the Board has directed security operatives to work with the centres to apprehend any meddlesome parent who comes near the centres.

The Board’s helmsman also noted that going by the extant national policy on education, a candidate for the examination must have attained the age of 17 years.

“Therefore, it is evident that these parents had not allowed their wards to pass through the classes as defined in the document, hence, the determination to follow their wards to the examination venue with the aim of compromising examination officials. At any rate, it is clear to any discerning observer that these parents deserve to be sanctioned as they had obviously ‘smuggled’ underage children into the ranks of those scheduled to sit the examination,” the JAMB boss said.

The Board also availed itself of the opportunity provided by the meeting to advise candidates to jealously guard their personal details, e-mail address, as well as their registration and phone numbers.

The advice was prompted against the backdrop of some candidates, who might be enticed into patronising fraudulent websites. Consequently, the Board informed candidates that if their personal details were found with any of such sites, they would be treated as accomplices and prosecuted.

Furthermore, the Registrar said all arrangements have been concluded for the conduct of the 2024 UTME, which will be held in over 700 CBT centres across the nation.

He disclosed that the Board expected a seamless exercise but it has nevertheless made adequate provision to tackle any technical glitch that might occur in the course of the examination.

He, however, warned that if a session experienced any technical challenge, candidates in subsequent sessions would be allowed to sit their examination as scheduled while the candidates in the challenged session would be rescheduled for the last session for the day or the following day or even further depending on the centre schedules.

He said candidates are to take note that they will remain calm in the event of any disruption. In this wise, any candidate or parent, who disrupt any subsequent session on account of the failure of his/her session, would be disqualified outrightly from taking the examination.