DIGITIZED COMMUNICATION: JAMB IMPLEMENTS JANUARY 1ST CUTOFF DATE

…says some institution still send hardcopies of correspondence

The newly-unveiled Integrated Brochure and T Syllabus System(IBASS) digitized platform by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for the nation’s tertiary institutions and regulatory agencies in the education sector has taken effect.

It would be recalled that the Board, at a virtual meeting hosted from its National Headquarters, Abuja, on Monday, 14th November, 2022,  had introduced a new digitized communication platform through which all communications relating to programmes/courses offered by the nation’s institutions would be received.

The meeting, which was held in two batches on the same day for both Northern and Southern tertiary institutions and the three regulatory bodies: the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) with some vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts in attendance, underscored the need for a transition from analogue to digitized communication.

It is to be noted that the attendees comprising Heads of Tertiary Institutions in the country, had at the end of the meeting requested that seminars should be organized on a zonal basis to enlighten stakeholders on the use of both IBASS and the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) platforms as communication channels. The Board, as a responsive agency, subsequently commissioned erudite and seasoned resource persons to conduct the trainings simultaneously at each of the six geopolitical zones of the country on Monday, 12th December, 2022.

It was on account of the positive feedbacks received from the various institutions that the Board had fixed the formal implementation of the paperless policy for 1st January, 2023. By implication, the Board has effectively signalled its intent not to receive any paper communication from any regulatory agencies or institutions with effect from the stipulated cutoff date.

However, the Board has observed with dismay that in spite of the cutoff date, some institutions still send hard copies of their correspondence to the Board.

The Board wishes to unequivocally restated its commitment to the digitized communication regime and reiterated that it would not receive nor accept hard copies of letters or correspondence from any institutions as agreed by all stakeholders. Furthermore, the Board has directed that in the spirit of the electronic and paperless communication regime, institutions are required to send in their Matriculation List through the IBASS platform.

The Board advises institutions to use either the IBASS or the CAPS communication platforms to send their letters to the Board and warns all stakeholders that any hard copies received would not be attended to.

The Board urges regulatory agencies and tertiary institutions to take advantage of the two platforms to improve on their service delivery, productivity and efficiency through the removal of bottlenecks, prolonged delays in taking critical decisions and unnecessary officialdom.

PROF. OLOYEDE A WELFARIST, ACHIEVER PAR EXCELLENCE

When Prof. Is-haq Oloyede assumed office as the 5th Registrar of the Joint W Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) six years ago, he reeled out a 5-point Agenda leaving no one in doubt as to his mission in the Board. The clearly-defined five-point agenda made welfare as one of its focus, thus, giving clear indication that staff welfare was going to be paramount in propelling a healthy workforce needed for the actualisation of his vision for the Board.

It would be recalled that Prof.  Oloyede had listed Networking, Transparency, Technology, Discipline and Staff Welfare as the five cardinal objectives of his administration.

Six years down the line,  Prof. Oloyede had not only given a true account of himself considering the many transformations recorded in the Board and which have defined his person not only as an academic, administrator, transformer but also a humanist, who has engraved himself in the hearts of all staff,  the leadership of the two Staff Unions inclusive, for the many welfare policies he had introduced.

When asked as to the rationale for his prioritisation of staff welfare, he had disclosed that, to consolidate on the achievements of his predecessors, he needed a motivated and committed workforce.

To achieve this, the Prof. Oloyede-led administration designed a template that considered the totality of the complexities that troubles any average staff of the Board and which could, therefore, constitute major distractions to the workforce in general besides issues like a befitting office accommodation, training and retraining, both local and international, among others.

Furthermore, the Registrar has also taken critical steps towards placing more technical responsibilities in the hands of staff on account of capacity building needed to produce results capable of uplifting the Board while enhancing staff development.

What deserves commendation as mentioned repeatedly by the two unions in their various letters of appreciation is the deliberate efforts by the current management to boost staff morale and stabilise the mental composure of the workforce.

First, is the timely promotion of staff, which has been given unprecedented attention such that  any staff of the Board could conveniently calculate his career progression and predict where he/she would be career-wise, in the foreseeable future. Also, the present management sought and got approval from relevant government agencies for the payment of the 13th Month and Examination Allowances to staff of the Board. This is unprecedented in the over four decades of the Board’s existence.

This is in line with the position of the current leadership of the Board that for welfare to be truly impactful, it must be seen in relation to its capacity to adequately address physical and emotional state of staff for maximum productivity.

The desire of the Board to completely ensure that its staff enjoy the peace of mind required to produce the kind of results it craves also led to the adoption of an interventional medical policy that assists staff or their spouses with medical challenges outside the NHIS coverage.  In 2022 alone, the tremendous impact of this unprecedented policy manifested in some staff being assisted with funds running into millions of naira with some staff receiving over N30M each  to seek medical attention both at home and abroad. 

It is in this regard, that the noteworthy step of the Prof. Oloyede-led JAMB to invest huge resources towards the  rehabilitation of the National Headquarters’ Clinic by equipping it with drugs and personnel should be situated.

It is also noteworthy that since staff of the Board, at times, had to go out of the premises during lunch break to source decent food to buy with its attendant risks, the Board introduced a free lunch policy for staff at the Board’s National Headquarters, Bwari. This has had the desired effect of stemming the mass movement of staff during lunchtime, thus reducing the manhours wasted and ensuring that staff eat healthy.

In addition, Prof. Oloyede in his efforts at underscoring the importance of mobility of staff as they commute to their offices has improved tremendously on the administration of the shuttle bus scheme to ensure maximum impact on staff welfare.

One other area in which the current management has improved the lot of its workforce was through its phenomenal increase in openings for career progression of staff with many staff fulfilling their aspirations to becoming Directors rather than remaining stagnant as would have been the case. With this laudable step, stagnation and redundancy had become a thing of the past in the Board. To truly appreciate the effects of these two scenarios on the psychic of the staff, one has to consider the attendant enormous psychological trauma.

It is against this backdrop that the step should be seen especially as the Board had been able to promote diversity and inclusion, self-esteem, inter-personal relationships among the employees and fulfillment of their lifetime ambition to attain the peak of their career. Based on the foregoing, there is no gainsaying the fact that the current management has improved on staff welfare tremendously.

It still plans to do more as exemplified by its efforts at applying to relevant agencies of government for the upward review of the allowances currently being paid to staff. When all these diverse and multi- facetted welfare packages are considered holistically, it would be mind boggling as to what is actually accruing to staff under the current leadership of the Board when compared to what hitherto obtained.

2023 UTME: JAMB BRIEFS EDUCATION COMMISSIONERS

…Solicits CBT Expansion, Others

A head of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME), the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has briefed Commissioners for Education of the thirty-six States of the Federation on the upcoming 2023 UTME and other operations of the Board.

The Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, during an interactive session with the State Commissioners held at the Marriot Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos, on 9th January, 2023, solicited their support and that of their State Governments towards the establishment of more Computer-Based Test centres and elimination of examination malpractice in the conduct of public examinations in the country.

The Registrar said the meeting was necessary to brief them on the modalities for the forthcoming UTME/DE exercise as well as other activities of the Board. He noted that the meeting was important to ensure that all the States through their Commissioners for education were carried along as critical stakeholders in the education sector.

While thanking them for their contributions to the success of the Board’s examinations over the years, Prof. Oloyede reiterated that  JAMB is charged with the responsibility of placing suitably-qualified candidates in collaboration with the tertiary institutions and tasked them to pay more attention to the admission process.

He also charged them to encourage institutions within their respective domains  to adhere to extant admission guidelines as well as shun admission infractions to maximise the enormous advantages provided by the Central Admissions Processing System(CAPS) in the conduct and selection process of candidates into the nation ‘s tertiary institutions.

The Registrar stated that the Board introduced the NAPTAP-M Awards to reward compliance with due process, noting that the award is geared towards enhancing excellence in the conduct of admission.

He told the State Commissioners that  this year’s award would be robust with N750m earmarked for the award as efforts have been concluded to consolidate the five categories of awards into a single one as approved by the Hon. Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu where the winner would take home the sum of N500m while N250m would be given as consolation prizes to the runner ups.

On the 2023 UTME/DE exercise, Prof. Oloyede stated that a rigorous accreditation exercise, was conducted to check the suitability of CBT centres across the country with the participation of Chief External Examiners, comprising Vice-Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts and Technical Advisors, who operated in States other than their own.

He noted that part of the fallouts  of their work was the radical reduction in the number of approved CBT centres, which went down from 753 in 2022  to 613 out of the over 800 centres that applied in 2023.

He, therefore, appealed to the State Governments to invest in the establishment of standard CBT centres in their States. The Registrar stated that this year, different dates have been set for UTME and DE candidates.

UTME candidates would register first between 14th January and 14th  February, 2023, while DE candidates would register from  20th February to 20th April, 2023, at JAMB Professional Registration Centres (PRC) only. He also informed the Hon. Commissioners that the Board had introduced  compulsory payment for the optional Mock-UTME for candidates, who indicated interest to sit the examination.

He noted that the measure was taken to ensure that even if the candidates failed to show up eventually, the CBT centres would not suffer any loss after expending resources in anticipation of the exercise.

On the cashless registration  regime introduced in 2022, the Registrar said the Board would consolidate on the successes recorded in spite of the extra financial cost that the Board would  incur through bank charges.

He, however, pointed out that the move would  drastically reduce the problem of extortion, hoarding, and arbitrary increase of the fees of application documents.

He also briefed the gathering about the understanding between JAMB and the Central Bank of Nigeria on the use of the e-Wallet stating that candidates can now pay using eNaira wallet to purchase UTME application documents.

This is not all, as Prof.  Oloyede also declared that the Board would be establishing self-service centres at JAMB State Offices nationwide to give candidates the opportunity to conduct their self-registration without having to wait on queues.

The JAMB helmsman also disclosed that the Board had established the 66019 USSD code in addition to the 55019 USSD code already in use to initiate the process of registration.

With regard to candidates with  biometric issues, the Registrar stated that they would be requested to come to the Board’s National Headquarters, Abuja, to register.

The Commissioners appreciated the Board for it inclusiveness stating that they would continue to partner the Board for the benefits of their states.

The Hon. Commissioner for Education, Kaduna, Mrs Halima Lawal and her counterpart from Abia, Mr Israel Chijoke Mark esq called for more of such meeting to reposition the education sector while appealing that they should be allowed to go back and look into several of the issues raised at the meeting to see if some of the centres can be rescued.

THE EAGLEONLINE.COM.NG MONDAY 9TH JANUARY, 2023 – 2023 UTME: JAMB CONFIRMS REGISTRATION WILL COMMENCE THIS WEEKEND:

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has given an assurance of a hitch-free 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), as it concludes plans to kick-start the process… The Registrar of the Board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, gave the assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. Oloyede said that the Board had put machinery in place to tackle most of the challenges recorded during the conduct of the past examinations, affirming that registration of candidates for UTME would commence on Saturday, January 14 and end on February 14 and Direct Entry (DE) registration would begin on February 20 and end April 20.

Also Available in SUN NEWSPAPER TUESDAY 10TH JANUARY, 2023, NATION NEWSPAPER TUESDAY 10TH JANUARY, 2023.

PUNCH NEWSPAPER TUESDAY 10TH  JANUARY, 2023 – FLASH: JAMB Adopts eNaira For Payment Of UTME Registration: The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria has said that candidates can also use the e-naira channel to pay for the 2023 UTME registration. The CBN Director, IT, Architecture and Strategy, Rakiya Mohammed, who was represented by Abdul Shedrack, made this known while speaking with the Board and its financial partners at a virtual meeting. She explained that the adoption of the enaira would eliminate extortion of candidates, adding that it would reduce the overall indirect cost of cash transactions on the broader community while blocking leakages in the Board’s transactions. She added that it would also promote the digitisation of cash and facilitate the development of e-commerce, enable a reliable mechanism for issuance of bulk JAMB e-PINs, as well as support and promote the implementation of government policies. Mohammed further explained that the enaira is the digital version of the naira currency, saying it had equal value and is backed by law. Candidates are therefore urged to download and install the eWallet from its website or via Google Play Store or Apple IOS Store.

Also available in GISTSMATE.COM.NG TUESDAY 10TH JANUARY, 2023.

PUNCH NEWSPAPER THURSDAY 12TH JANUARY, 2023 – NUC Boss Warns Professional Bodies Against Unhealthy  Rivalry: The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Abubakar Adamu  Rasheed, has warned professional bodies to desist from unhealthy competition with the commission over the training of undergraduate students in the Nigeria university system.

Prof. Rasheed spoke in Abuja when he received the President of the Institute of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria (ICCON), who was on a courtesy visit to his office  to seek collaboration with the Commission to rejuvenate the teaching of Chemistry in the Nigerian universities.

GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER FRIDAY 13TH JANUARY, 2023 – FG Grants N4.7b For 219 TETFund Research Proposals: The Federal Government has approved N4,736,782,352.21 as grants for 219 research proposals under the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) National Research Fund (NRF) programme for the 2021 grant cycle.

This followed the report of the TETFund National Research Fund Screening and Monitoring Committee (NRFS&MC), which recommended funding of the requests after a rigorous screening exercise that began with receipt of 4,810 concept notes from applicants in November 2021.

A breakdown of the approval indicates that N3,066,156,844.61 was approved for the Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) thematic group, N806,381,998 for Humanities and Social Science (HSS), while Cross Cutting (CC) received N864,242,509.60, with individual grants ranging from N4.5 million to over N41 million.

PUNCH NEWSPAPER FRIDAY 13TH JANUARY, 2023 – Secondary School Principals Seek Curriculum Redesign: The All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools has called on the Nigerian government to redesign the secondary school curriculum. ANCOPSS National President, Mallam Ibn Musa, in an interview with our correspondent on what reforms the government should focus on in 2023, maintained that a curriculum conference should be held so as to enable the redesigning of the system to fit-for purpose. “We need to seat and look at our system of education. It has been a long time since we had a curriculum conference so we can redesign the education system. We can’t expect change if we don’t redesign the curriculum,” he said.

JAMB IBADAN ZONAL OFFICE LAUNCHES RESULT-DRIVEN MODEL FOR 2023

In line with the Board’s mantra of service and integrity, the Ibadan Zonal Office of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has developed a strategic model aimed at ensuring the achievement of the Board’s goals through improved and efficient service delivery.

During the presentation of the model to members of staff of the Zonal Office, the Ag. Director of the Ibadan Zonal Office, Mrs. Olajumoke Adeleke,  on 9th January, 2023, Mrs. Adeleke congratulated members of staff of the zone on their various achievements in 2022 while calling them to buckle down to the exercises lined up for 2023.

In her remarks, the Zonal Director charged the staff to be committed to the ideals of professionalism,  honesty and diligence while discharging their duties. Speaking further on the model, she said that the priority of the Zonal Office was to coordinate the activities of all its Divisions and Units towards  achieving the goals of the Board.

The model, which contained clearlyarticulated templates for  2023 as well as organisational restructuring of Divisions and Units of the State Offices in the zone would be periodically reviewed through tested Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

In his remarks, the Deputy Director, Zonal Matters, Mr. Oladele Daramola, stressed that the Board had effected innovative changes in its activities and called for members of staff to regularly update themselves on these changes while urging them not to rest on their laurels to ensure quality service delivery.

AKWA IBOM STATE OFFICE IS READY FOR 2023 UTME REGISTRATION

As the registration of candidates for the 2023 UTME examination commences on 14th January, 2023, members of staff of the Akwa Ibom State Office have said that all is set for the commencement of the registration exercise slated for Saturday, 14th January, 2023.

While addressing staff of the State Office during its New Year address, the State Coordinator, Mrs. Grace Olima-Williams, commended the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, for the innovations put in place to ensure a smooth registration exercise stating that the new measures would ensure a smooth and successful exercise.

Mrs. Olima-Williams advised staff to ensure that they uphold the integrity of the Board, be good ambassadors in the course of discharging their duties and shunned acts that could undermine the registration exercise.

The 2023 UTME registration is scheduled to span a period of one month, Saturday, 14th January, 2023, to Tuesday, 14th February, 2023,  to enable all eligible candidates to register for the 2023 UTME.

2023 UTME/ DE REGISTRATION: COLLABORATIVE EFFORT CRITICAL TO SUCCESS – Adebiyi

In line with the dictum “he who fails to I plan already plans to fail, the Abia State Coordinator has organised a one-day capacity building workshop for staff of the State Office ahead of the commencement of the 2023 UTME/DE registration exercise.

According to the State Coordinator, the workshop was borne out of the desire to set meaningful goals for the State Office and its staff during the upcoming registration exercise so as to achieve higher productivity as well as foster teamwork.

Mr. Adebiyi stated that the office workspace had been structured to prevent overcrowding at the various Professional Registration Centres (PRCs), ensure physical and social distancing, and a seamless registration process.

To achieve maximum result, he disclosed that the principle of management by objectives would be adopted to measure  performance against a series of set targets to gauge staff overall performance in their assigned responsibilities. The State Coordinator also disclosed that the 2023 UTME/DE registration scheduled to hold between 14th January and 14th February, 2023, is time bound, and therefore, urged staff to be committed and dedicated to their assigned tasks to prevent disruption of the Board’s Calendar for 2023.

To this end, he stated that the Office would set reminders, review goals daily, keep up-todate records on the 2023 UTME/DE registration dashboard, minimise timewasting activities, use productivity apps, motivate staff, avoid multi-tasking and offer a wellness programme during the exercise.  He also advised staff to shun any act unbecoming of an official of the Board as anyone found wanting would be sanctioned appropriately.

He, therefore, maintained that all hands must be on deck and, therefore, solicited the cooperation of all staff in this direction.

At the end of the training, members of staff expressed appreciation to the State Coordinator for organising the workshop and pledge their support as he repositioned the State Office for enhanced productivity.

PS DELTA STATE EDUCATION MINISTRY PAYS COURTESY VISIT TO JAMB

The Permanent Secretary, Delta State Ministry of Education, Mr. Augustine Oghoro, on Wednesday, 11th January, 2023, paid a courtesy visit to the Delta State Office of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Asaba.

The visit, according to Mr. Oghoro, was made to seek clarifications on issues which had led to the Board’s recent reduction of CBT centres in the State from 31 to 22. He stated that he had visited to make a passionate appeal to the Board on behalf of the candidates, who would be directly affected by the action.

“Considering the insecurity ravaging the country at the moment, and the fact that some candidates would have to cover far distances for the UTME/DE registration and of course, the main examination, I warmly appeal that JAMB should give a second chance to the affected centres to fix the identified problems during the centre accreditation exercise in the interest of the candidates. Where two elephants fight, the grasses therein suffer the consequences,” he said.

In her response, the Delta State Coordinator, Mrs. Linda Ajanwachuku, declared that the Board does not joke with quality, particularly when it involves the sanctity of its examination.

She said that the Board had taken the decision in the interest of the candidates to avoid all sorts of technical hitches emanating from negligence, human errors, as well as intents to commit atrocities, amonng others, that could consequently affect the innocent candidates.

Also on the entourage of the Permanent Secretary was the Director of Examinations, Mr. S.I. Egomagwuna, Ministry of Education, Delta State.

2023 UTME REGISTRATION: JIGAWA STATE COORDINATOR MEETS CBT CENTRE ADMINISTRATORS

In preparation for the 2023 UTME  registration, the Jigawa State Coordinator of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Mr. Bello Aminu, has held a critical stakeholders’ meeting with the Centre Administrators of all the JAMB-approved CBT Centres in the State.

The meeting, which was held virtually through the zoom platform on 12th January, 2023, was held to stress the importance of adhering to all the Board’s guidelines on the upcoming 2023 UTME registration by CBT centres in the State.

In his speech, Mr. Aminu disclosed that Centre Administrators would be held responsible for any infractions committed by their registration staff. He, therefore, urged them to engage only credible personnel in the registration exercise.

Speaking on behalf of the CBT Centre Administrators, Mr. Ibrahim Sule Haruna of the Federal University Dutse ICT CBT Centre, assured the Board that they would comply with all its directives concerning the 2023 UTME registration and examination.

SERVICOM: JAMB REGISTRAR COMMENDED FOR QUALITY SERVICE, AS EGBUNA WON AWARD

The Service Compact with All T Nigerians (SERVICOM) has commended the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB), for his unwavering interest and commitment to the development of customer-focused service delivery in the Board.

The commendation was contained in a letter signed by the National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer(CEO), Mrs. Nnenna Akajemeli.

The letter read in parts: “We are indeed encouraged by your inspiring drive in ensuring that Nigerians receive quality and timely service from the Nigerian State. We shall continue to count on your cooperation as a key stakeholder in the provision of satisfactory services to all citizens in the realisation of the essence of governance.”

The Registrar’s commendation came on the heels of the SERVICOM 2022 2nd Best Nodal Officer (TEAM C) to the Board’s Nodal Officer, Mrs. Ngozi Egbuna.

According to the National Coordinator, Mrs. Egbuna was honoured because of her “assertive and professional lead in ensuring a functional and effective SERVICOM Unit in JAMB.”

In her response, Mrs. Egbuna commended the National Coordinator, SERVICOM, for the recommendation accorded the Registrar. She also commended the SERVICOM boss for her laudable initiatives aimed at foregrounding service delivery in national discourse and promised not to rest on her laurels.