Jamb Release UMTE Result,12,000 Results Witheld

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), on Friday, released the results of the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) with only 10 candidates out of a total of 1.6 million that sat for the examination scoring 300 marks and above.

Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Professor ‘Dibu Ojerinde, announcing the release of results of the examination, held last Saturday, to the press, on Friday, in Abuja, said that about 80, 419 results of the candidates that sat for the Paper Pencil Test and Dual Based Test were being withheld.

Out of this figure, the results of 68,309 candidates from various centres are undergoing further screening to ascertain their culpability, while results of 12,110 candidates have been withheld for possible disciplinary action, Ojerinde said.  

The JAMB registrar disclosed that only 10 candidates scored up to 300 and above, although the general performance of candidates this year showed an improvement over last year.

According to him, 628 candidates scored between 270 and 299 points, 33,115 scored between 250 and 269, while 704,298 candidates scored between 200 and 249 points.

The breakdown indicated further that 127,017 candidates scored from one to 159, while 103,489 scored between 160 and 169 points.
The JAMB cut-off mark for last year was 180 for universities and 160 for polytechnics and colleges of education.

Ojerinde disclosed that a total of 1,670,833 candidates applied for admissions to universities while 28,977 applied to polytechnics. He said colleges of education had 28,445 applicants, while the paltry 25 candidates applied to study in Innovative Enterprises Institutions.

He said: “last year, we had cases of specially designed slippers otherwise tagged “Magic Slippers” which desperate candidates used to perpetrate malpractice. This year witnessed a new turn as candidates wore long sleeve shirts that bore imprint of prepared answers.

The vigilant eyes of my staff caught three of such T-shirts.”

The “miracle shirts,” which the JAMB boss displayed to journalists, showed answers carefully written under the sleeves of the shirts. He said, “It looks neat and white, but inside it, there are some things written. Boys this time use their dresses to do such things.”  

Ojerinde also disclosed that results of some examination centres in Benue and Rivers states had been cancelled with the centres blacklisted as a result of widespread cheating and irregularities, including mass cheating, collusion by invigilators and centre coordinators, use of handsets and other foreign materials, pre-shaded answers and extortion of money from candidates by invigilators.

For instance, the JAMB Registrar said that in Centre 3072, Elene-Okirika exam town, they were collecting N20,000 each from candidates. Also affected are Centres 11604 and 11605 Iga Okpaya exam town and Centre 35704, Nakar exam town, Benue.

Another examination centre affected in the cancellation as listed by Ojerinde was Centre 2708 Port Harcourt Trans-Amadi Abuloma exam town, he said were collecting money from candidates and “we cannot continue to allow it.”

The board has also recorded a total of 40,692 invalid results as a result of either multiple shading or no shading at all by the candidates.  

The JAMB registrar, however, warned candidates against Internet fraudsters claiming that they could upgrade their results.

He said: “Information reaching us in JAMB shows that some internet fraudsters are already telling candidates that their results could be upgraded in one form or the other.

“This is a pure deceit. The public and candidates are hereby advised to disregard these fraudsters since they do not have access to our data. Only the lazy and gullible will fall victim.

“I received one message overnight. It said: ‘Do you know one Osiegbe Monday. He is demanding for N5000 or more for upgrading JAMB results. His account number is 2059466943.’  That is what they have resorted to now. We will find out who the owner of this account is. But definitely, I can assure, it doesn’t belong to any of my staff.”

He noted that the details of the results in order of merit, by courses and institutions of choice candidates would be dispatched to universities, polytechnics, monotechnics, colleges of education and innovative institutions at the appropriate time for the purpose of 2013/2014 admissions exercise.

Ojerinde also disclosed that the Computer Based Test scheduled for from May 18 to June 1 would hold accordingly and urged the candidates to reprint their e-registration slips afresh to further ascertain their CBT centres.