1.2 mllion register for 2018 UTME |Will half be admitted?

As figuratively encouraging these numbers of registrants sound, especially considering the rot and distractions of “wanting blow”, quick money, fast life, and the likes that badger the attention of the average Nigerian youth, what actually bothers is the question posed to our common consciousness right now – like, are our tertiary institutions equipped to accommodate half of this figure at least, assuming they scale the UTME hurdle?

About 1.2 million Nigerians have been registered for the 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination, according to statistics from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.

The UTME is billed to hold from March 9 to 17.

JAMB’s Head of Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, in an interview with our correspondent on Monday, said that all hands were on deck for a hitch-free examination.

He said, “We have over 1.2 million candidates now registered for the examination. Last Friday, it was around 1.1 million. The figure is updated daily.”

Benjamin had, earlier in a statement, said that the 2018 UTME candidates could pick a College of Education, the Nigeria Defence Academy or the Police Academy as their institution of first choice.

He also gave the assurance that the examination would not fall short of the expectations of Nigerians.

Speaking during a recent briefing, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, had noted that the board had unveiled some “new prohibitions” for the 2018 UTME in order to check examination malpractice.

“The UTME Mock Examination will hold in the first week of February 2018 and the concerned Computer-Based Centres have been accredited. As we have earlier announced, the UTME will hold from March 9 to 17, 2018.

“We have prohibited some additional materials during the 2018 UTME in examination hall. These include wristwatches, biros, calculators, pencils except the HB Pencil, and any other device that can store data, transmit or receive signal no matter the form. These prohibitions are not only applicable to the candidates but also to all examination officials,” Oloyede had said.