From Olawale Rayners, Lagos
At the conclusion of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exercise, the board said it has paid over N1 billion to owners of Computer Based Test (CBT) Centres nationwide for the services render at the 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
According to the board’s Head, Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, he said in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Lagos. “In an effort to promote and sustain a cordial working relationship with stakeholders that participated in the conduct of its yearly examinations, it is only proper to promptly keep to agreements when due.”
He added that this would ensure better collaborative efforts in quality service delivery. “We have just paid over N1 billion to all owners of CBT centres used in the conduct of our 2018 UTME.
“Centres owners that gave us quality service during our examination has all been commended for a job well done and we have reciprocated by effecting payments.
“Having said this, we however discovered that some centres could not live up to their responsibilities as a result of technical issues.”
He said in such cases, candidates that were scheduled for the examination in such centres were relocated to a fresh centre which would now be paid for their services. He explained that the centers that were originally scheduled for the examination that eventually had technical issues could not be paid because the board would not make double payment for the same purpose.
“In some others, on watching the footage of the CCTV cameras at the centres after the examination, we discovered operators or owners of such centres colluded with some candidates to cheat.
“These categories of centre owners, we cannot pay. “Currently too, the board has embarked on a mope-up exercise for candidates with biometric issues and other related issues that were no fault of theirs during the conduct of the examination.
“You know aside the biometric issues, some candidates innocently found themselves in some centres that colluded with candidates to cheat in the examination.
“In such cases, it will be wrong to cancel the entire results of candidates. All such innocent candidates will be singled and be given the opportunity of re-taking the examination.
“As a responsive organisation, we will continue to ensure that every candidate is given a right to access higher education,”
Benjamin also said that the board would continue to deplore cutting-edge technology in the conduct of its examinations, in an effort to protect the integrity of its test