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Protest in Delta Against Withdrawal of Online Registration Agents By JAMB

By Hendrix Oliomogbe

Asaba — A GROUP, Delta State League of Online Registration Agents, yesterday protested their members' arbitrary withdrawal as online registration agents by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The agents, who barricaded the state office of the exams' body, said that the new JAMB registration procedure would be difficult for prospective applicants for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). They later marched to the Delta State House of Assembly, state office of JAMB and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

The group's spokesman, Frederick Omene, said that there were over 30 registration centres in the state all of which had been automatically blacklisted from registering students for the examination as a result of the controversial decision by JAMB.

Some policemen, who were swiftly deployed to maintain order and peace, had a hectic time as they tried to force the rampaging protesters out of the JAMB premises, pleading with them to express their grievances through the Federal Ministry of Education.

According to Omene, the agents were duly registered with N10,000 and authorised by JAMB before they were given access code to operate as online registration agents of the board.

He said: "JAMB gave us conditions to register students for the exam; we were told to buy some machines which we bought for 30,000. Later, they came again that we should pay N10,000 for accreditation for them to give access code as authorised agents. Then, JAMB sent e-mail to all the centres as authorisation to register the students."

The spokesman further said that the agents, some of who are graduates, have family members who they take care of with the proceeds from the business and have faithfully complied with the rules over the years.

"We've been in this business for long. Now, JAMB is trying to take food from our mouth. Besides that, it will pose serious challenge to students in rural and riverine communities to travel from villages to queue up in only two centres in the state to wait for JAMB registration. This is absurd and unacceptable to us," the spokesperson added.

Omene, who said that JAMB approved only two centres in the entire Delta State and to be operated by JAMB officials, said the decision would subject students living in rural communities to travel from villages to the two Computer-Based Centres (CBC) in the state to register for the examination.

SOURCE: http://allafrica.com/stories/201410161218.html