The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is set to introduce a pre-registration mobile application and enhanced biometric verification ahead of the 2027 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This move aims to ease registration and curb examination malpractice. The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Segun Aina, disclosed this in Abuja on Saturday.
The proposed application would enable prospective candidates to begin their registration from home by retrieving their personal information from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), filling in their biodata, selecting preferred subjects, courses, and institutions before visiting registration centres. This initiative is designed to help candidates make informed decisions based on their academic abilities while reducing the time spent at registration centres.
The application would also provide candidates with advance guidance on course and institution selection, including information on the previous year's admission requirements and entry marks for their preferred programmes. According to Aina, the initiative would help candidates make informed decisions based on their academic abilities while reducing the time spent at registration centres, particularly during biometric capture.
JAMB would introduce a technology-driven mechanism to prevent candidates from selecting inappropriate subject combinations for their intended courses. The system would automatically flag incorrect combinations and prevent candidates from proceeding with their applications until the required subjects were selected. This move aims to prevent candidates from making wrong subject choices for their intended courses.
On examination security, JAMB would strengthen biometric verification at examination centres to prevent impersonation, malpractice, and other irregularities. The board had made concessions to reduce difficulties candidates encounter when seeking corrections to their biodata, but would compensate for the flexibility with stricter identity checks during the actual examination.
Aina announced plans to introduce a feature that would allow candidates to report questions they consider faulty during the computer-based test. This feedback mechanism would enable the board to collect data on disputed examination questions, investigate complaints, and ensure candidates were assessed fairly. Candidates would also be able to rate their experiences at computer-based test (CBT) centres immediately after completing their examinations.
The proposed innovations are part of broader efforts to improve candidates' registration experience, strengthen examination credibility, and make the 2027 UTME more efficient. The registrar commended CBT centres for their support since JAMB introduced CBT more than a decade ago, but stressed that the board would continue to demand high standards in service delivery.
Key points
- JAMB introduces pre-registration mobile application to ease UTME registration
- Enhanced biometric verification to be implemented to prevent examination malpractice
- Candidates to report faulty questions during computer-based test
