Thousands of UTME candidates took to the
office of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation
Board (JAMB) in Lagos, the candidates accused
the tertiary admission examination body of
refusing to open its portal for them to effect
changes in their personal data.

The protesting candidates accused JAMB of
collecting money from them for the exercise but
so far none of them have been able to change
the date in their UTME application form.

The examination body also confirmed that it had
not opened its portal for candidates in the 2017
Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination
(UTME) to effect change of course or correction
of data.

The Head of Media and Information of JAMB, Dr
Fabian Benjamin, told the News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday that many
candidates bombarded the Lagos office of the
organisation for these purposes.

Benjamin said that reports reaching the
headquarters of the board indicated that a large
crowd of candidates on Wednesday besieged the
board’s Lagos office.

He said the development was creating
unnecessary anxiety and chaos where there
should be none.

“This announcement became necessary following
the crowd in our offices by candidates
demanding for such services.

“Affected candidates are urged to remain calm as
we shall contact them when the time is right.
“The request for correction of data is usually
from candidates, who provided wrong
information while filling their application
document online,’’ Benjamin said.

According to him, the change of institutions is
for those who are considering other preferences
other than their initial choices.

He noted that the candidates were misled to
believe that the board had started such services
and would soon close.

He said that when the board opened the window
for correction of data and change of course it
would make the announcement.

He assure all candidates desirous of carrying out
the correction of data or change of institution
that the board would ensure that enough time
was given for them to do so.

Benjamin also explained that the board had not
finished with the conduct of the 2017 UTME.
“The board is still conducting examinations for
those who registered late and those who could
not be verified during the examination.

“As such, it will be unfair to them to open
window for such correction and changes at the
same time.

“Our reforms are meant to make our services
accessible to all conveniently.’’

He also said that JAMB would decentralise the
service when it eventually opened its portal for
it.

“We are collaborating with the University of
Lagos, Yaba College of Technology and other
stakeholders on this in Lagos. We will do same in
other states.

“This will ease the pressure on our various
offices and ensure a hitch-free process.’’
More than 1.7 million candidates registered for
the examination that was conducted from May 13
to May 20 nationwide.

Source http://naijacrooks.com/2017/06/jamb-candidates-protests-board-refuses-open-portal-correction-data/