1.6m candidates to sit for 2023 UTME as JAMB ends registration

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has ended registration for the 2023 UTME.

Fabian Benjamin, the board’s head of public affairs and protocol, broke the news in a statement on Wednesday.

The board said a total of 1.6 million candidates registered for this year’s UTME at the close of the exercise.

JAMB had originally fixed February 14 as the deadline for the 2023 UTME registration.

But the board later extended the deadline to February 22 to accommodate more candidates.

In the statement, Benjamin said ending the registration is in line with the board’s initial stance that there would be no further extension.

“At the close of the registration exercise, about 1.6m candidates had successfully registered for the 2023 UTME. This number does not include the Direct Entry component of the exercise, which had commenced on Monday, 20th February, 2023 before it was put on hold on Tuesday, 21st February, 2023,” the statement reads.

The JAMB spokesperson also said the experience of the board’s monitoring team led by Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar, showed this year’s exercise was the “smoothest in history”.

“The registrar’s monitoring team, which had gone round the country, was in Nasarawa and Delta states on the final day of the execise to oversee its conclusion,” it added.

“In Asaba, Delta state, the team visited Trinity Innovation Hub CBT Centre; Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku CBT Centre 1 and 2; Delta state Library CBT and others. It was, however, remarkable that none of these centres had any candidates waiting to be registered indicating that almost all candidates, who desire to register for the exercise had done so.

“The same situation was replicated in many centres in Nasarawa state as few candidates were seen at all the centres a day to the closing date and even these were cleared before the close of work. Hence, from every indication, this year’s exercise is shaping up to be the smoothest the board has ever had.

“However, based on reports received from the various monitoring teams across the country, the Board would review its SIM number swap policy as it will now require the Telcos to confirm that the old SIM being put forward for swapping previously belonged to the applicant but had been issued to another person, which would, therefore, preclude the possibility of a SIM welcome back before such swapping would be approved.”