Naira Scarcity: JAMB Extends UTME Registration

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has extended the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration exercise by one week, starting from Wednesday, February 15, 2023.

The extension, according to the board, is due to the failure of candidates to get cash and the difficulty in using electronic channel to purchase ePINs.

It said by the extension, the sale of ePINs would end on Monday, while the UTME registration would end on Wednesday, February 22.

JAMB had earlier slated the closing date for the sale of both the ePINs and the 2023 UTME application documents for Tuesday, February 14.

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JAMB spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin in a statement on Wednesday, said at the close of the sale of ePINs on Tuesday, 1,527,068 candidates had succesfully registered for the 2023 UTME exercise, including the 168,748 candidates, who indicated their interest to take the Mock-UTME.

He noted that the board, based on its projections, had expanded its capacity to register up to 100,000 candidates per day.

“With this, it was possible to register all desiring candidates within the space of a few days. However, less than 50,000 candidates were turning up for registration which is less than the installed registration capacity.

“Surprisingly, in the last two days before the closing date, the pace picked up remarkably with over a hundred thousand candidates registering on a daily basis,” Benjamin said.

The board, according to him, took cognisance of the reports from across the country, indicating some difficulties being faced by many Nigerians in using their electronic channels to purchase the ePINs or obtain cash readily within the stipulated period.

“It has, as a consequence, granted this extension to ensure that all candidates who desire to register for the 2023 UTME are given the opportunity to do so expecially when the extant challenges are not of their own making,” he added.