By FAVOUR NNABUGWU
Abuja — Over 1.7million candidates will today sit for this year’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The examination will hold at the same time in 3,168 centres in 378 examination towns in the country and six foreign countries, including Accra in Ghana; Buea in Republic of Cameroon; Cotonou in Republic of Benin; London in United Kingdom; Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Johannesburg in South Africa.
Of the grand total of 1,735,720 candidates, only 520,000 would be admitted into tertiary institutions, leaving the bulk of over 1.2 million without admission this year.
Disclosing this, in Abuja yesterday, Prof ‘Dibu Ojerinde, JAMB Registrar, said at a press briefing that the 520,000 was an improvement in the carrying capacity of tertiary institutions in the country, compared to what it was two years ago.
He said: “The carrying capacity of all tertiary institutions, including Colleges of Education, is 520,000. It is, indeed, an improvement from the 450,000 we had two years back.”
“Of the grand total of 1,735,720 candidates writing the UTME from Saturday, April 27, 2013, 1,629,107 candidates applied for the PPT, 15,008 for the DBT and 91,610 CBT for the exam.
“The Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and the Dual Based test (DBT) is scheduled to hold on Saturday, April 27, 2013, while the CBT will commence from Saturday, May 18, 2013, and end on Saturday, June 1, 2013.
“Consequently, the board has concluded all arrangements for the smooth conduct of the 2013 UTME using the three testing modes.
“Also 196 inmates who applied from Lagos and Kaduna respectively are also sitting for this Saturday UTME, while 145 visually impaired candidates will sit for the same exam as provisions have been made for bailey questions and answers.”
He said the board had provided baillies questions and answers for the visually impaired with an extra time of 15 for each an hour paper
He advised visually impaired candidates to report at their respective centres on the day of the examination, as adequate arrangements had been made to take care of them at the examination centres.
Some of the visually impaired candidates had applied for the DBT and CBT. Such candidates have been reverted to PPT as there is not provision for visually impaired candidates to write CBT and DBT
The board said it had also created additional 167 centres in order to accommodate all the candidates that registered for the UTME.
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