JAMB asks UTME candidates to pay N700 as mock exam fee

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has directed candidates sitting for its mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to pay N700 as “exam fee”.

In a terse statement shared via its Twitter page on Monday, the board said the money will be paid to the owners of the computer-based test (CBT) centres they are to take the exam.

“All candidates sitting for the 2021 Mock examination scheduled for Thursday, 3rd June 2021 are advised to go to their assigned centres with N700. The amount would be paid to the centre owner as the mock examination fee,” it wrote.

All candidates sitting the 2021 Mock examination scheduled for Thursday, 3rd June 2021 are advised to go to their assigned centres with N700. The amount would be paid to the Centre owner as the mock examination fee.

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— JAMB (@JAMBHQ) May 31, 2021

The sum is different from the N3,500 paid by the candidates for UTME forms (ePINs) and N500 for reading text.

When contacted, Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s national public affairs head, told TheCable Lifestyle that the payment is not a new development.

According to him, the directive has been in place since the mock initiative was introduced.

“The candidates never paid for the mock exam. The only thing that they are paying for is the centres they will be using for the exam. We’re deploying every other thing needed for the exam. That’s why it’s optional. Whatever they’re paying for UTME, this one is a different exam to enable candidates test themselves.

“Our staff will be there to supervise the exam. The N700 is what they are paying for everything. They are paying to owners of the CBT centres; not JAMB. Since we started mock, candidates have been paying the same amount for the exercise.”

The board had earlier shifted the optional exercise, initially scheduled for May 20, to June 3. It had also instructed candidates sitting for the exam to reprint their examination slips to reflect the adjustment.