Some candidates have complained bitterly about their inability to register for the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination process due to a change of SIM card.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board started registration for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination on Monday, January 15th, 2024, and will end on Monday, February 26th, 2024.
JAMB is a Nigerian entrance examination board for tertiary-level institutions. The board conducts an entrance examination called, the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for prospective undergraduates in Nigerian universities.
A candidate, Promise Okeogene, in Bariga, Lagos, told our correspondent that he applied for UTME in 2020 and a code was sent to his phone number to enable him to proceed with the registration.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t proceed with the registration because he was 15 years old and underaged.
He revealed, “This year I am now 18 years old but couldn’t register because I lost the SIM card I used to register in 2020.
“JAMB insisted that it was the old SIM that I could use. I am confused, JAMB should help me.”
When our correspondent asked why he did not apply for a welcome back from his telecommunication service provider, Okeogene said, “Whenever I call the phone number, it is a Hausa lady that picks the line. It seems the telecommunication company has sold it to another customer.”
Another candidate in Ikorodu, Ganiyu Aderogba, also lamented “There is a challenge. My new phone number is not linked with my NIN, but JAMB is insisting that I use my old phone number which I used to register in 2021. But the number is lost and I didn’t bother to recover it. I don’t even know what to do now.”
However, the spokesperson of JAMB, Dr Benjamin Fabian, in an interview with The PUNCH reiterated that the SIM card was the unique identifier of every candidate, adding that the first phone number used in registering for UTME was the only one to be used at any other time.
He stated that the reason for the insistence on the use of just one SIM or old one registered on the JAMB platform was to enable JAMB to block all avenues of impersonation and examination malpractices.
Fabian stated, “We want to block all avenues of impersonation because identity is important. If they have lost the SIM card they registered with earlier, they should go and welcome back, they should go and look for the SIM card, they can’t suddenly change their identity, the SIM card is a unique identifier that you can’t compromise. We don’t want impersonators in our system. With the NIN you can go and change your name tomorrow, so we don’t use NIN. We don’t use court affidavits. The SIM is our unique identifier because two people cannot have the same phone number and it is the first or old SIM they are allowed to use for life on our platform.
“We have blocked all avenues of malpractice with this. We cannot at this stage compromise our process. If you have lost your sim card, go and do welcome back.”
Fabian added that as of Thursday, a total of 1.7m candidates had registered.
