www.jamb.gov.ng | Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board : JAMB

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is one of the most popular federal government agencies in Nigeria. Their main role is to conduct the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Exams (UTME) for students seeking admission into institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. On this page you will see everything you need to know about JAMB; about, history, mandate/act, objectives/roles, current leadership, departments, and units, achievements, challenges, contact details. Here, you will also see all related news and the latest updates about JAMB.

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About JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) is a Nigerian entrance examination board for tertiary-level institutions. The board conducts entrance Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for prospective undergraduates into Nigerian universities.

The board is also charged with the responsibility to administer similar examinations for applicants to Nigerian public and private monotechnics, polytechnics, and colleges of educations. All of these candidates must have obtained the West Africa School Certificate, now West African Examinations Council, WAEC, or its equivalent, National Examination Council (Nigeria),

Brief History of JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board was founded in 1978. was in 1978 that the Federal Government of Nigeria established the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) to harmonize admissions into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

under the leadership of General Olusegun Obasanjo six (6) additional universities have been established. Consequently, the government set up a national committee on university entrance under the chairmanship of Mr. M. S. Angulu.

The Committee was specifically requested to consider the possibility of setting up a Joint Matriculation Board.The Committee recommended the setting up of two (2) bodies, the Central Admissions Board and the Joint Matriculation Board.

The Federal military government accepted some of the recommendations of the committee and set up the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. The legal instrument establishing the Board was however promulgated by the act (no. 2 of 1978) of the Federal Military Government on 13th February, 1978.

By August 1988, the Federal Executive Council amended decree No. 2 of 1978 to empower the Board to conduct matriculation examinations for entry into all polytechnics and colleges of education in the country and to place suitably qualified candidates in the available places in these institutions.

The amendments have since been codified into decree No. 33 of 1989, which took effect from 7th December, 1989.

JAMB Mandate/act

Here are the reasons why JAMB mandate/act was established.

The legal instrument establishing the Board was promulgated by the Act (No. 2 of 1978) of the Federal Military Government on 13th February, 1978. By August 1988, the Federal Executive Council amended Decree No. 2 of 1978. The amendments have since been codified into Decree No. 33 of 1989, which took effect from 7th December, 1989. Decree No. 2 of 1978 (amended by Decree No. 33 of 1989) empowered the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to:

(a) conduct Matriculation Examination for entry into all Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education (by whatever name called) in Nigeria.

(b) appoint Examiners, Moderators, Invigilators, members of the Subject Panels and committees and other persons with respect to matriculation examinations and any other matters incidental thereto or connected therewith.

(c) place suitably qualified candidates in the tertiary institutions after having taken into account:

(i) the vacancies available in each tertiary institution;
(ii) the guidelines approved for each tertiary institution by its proprietors or other competent authorities (iii) the preference expressed or otherwise indicated by the candidates for certain tertiary institutions and courses (iv) such other matters as the Board may be directed by the Honorable Minister to consider or the Board itself may consider appropriate in the circumstances.

(d) collate and disseminate information on all matters relating to admissions into tertiary institutions or any other matter relevant to the discharge of functions of the board.

(e) carry out other activities as are necessary or expedient for the full discharge of all or any of the functions conferred on it under or pursuant to this Decree.

10 Objectives/Roles OF JAMB

Here are the top 10 Objectives/Roles OF JAMB in Nigeria.

1. Conducting of UTME
2. Ensure Eligibility of Candidates seeking Admission into Tertiary Institutions
3. Structuring of The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination
4. Creation of Admission Requirements
5. Syllabus Development and Review
6. Brochure Review and Development
7. Collection and Dissemination of Information Regarding Admission into Tertiary Institutions.
8. Placement of Students into Tertiary Institutions
9. Equity of Educational Opportunities
10. JAMB serves as a Catalyst of Tertiary Education in Nigeria

The goals of tertiary education include:

• To produce students with physical and intellectual skills which will help them be relevant and useful members of the society.
• To develop and inculcate proper values for survival into students.
• To contribute to national development through high-level relevant manpower training.
• To produce graduates imbibed with good discipline and ready to utilize theoretical knowledge in a real-life situation to achieve success

Current Leadership of JAMB-Chairman/Registra

Prof. Oloyede, who was appointed as the Registrar of the Agency on August 1st, 2016, has completed his five-year term of office. The new registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is Mr. Fabian Okoro, Mr.Fabian joined JAMB in 1993 as a programmer and was appointed a deputy director in 2018, is said to be the most senior director in the establishment.

List of JAMB Departments and units and their duties/functions

There are 12 JAMB Departments and units and their duties/functions in Nigeria and they include;

List 10 Notable Achievements of JAMB

Here are some of the notable achievements of JAMB.

1. The reorganisation of the Board’s activities through the deployment of new technologies such as Computer Based Test
2. The detection of abuse in Computer Based Test Centers both by Center owners and test-takers
3. To administer the distribution of admission spaces in a fair, equitable, and transparent manner
4. To ramp up capacity building in specific areas for its staff, and to save operational and management costs.
5. Jamb has been able to discover and delist defaulting CBTs/Centers
6. The elimination of the old-fashioned methods of using scratch cards, third parties, such as Cybercafes, and text messaging for checking UTME results.
7. Provision of an automated Central Admissions Processing System
8. The development of JAMB CAPs Mobile App for students to be able to login in with the phone number they had used for the UTME registration.
9. The board has curbed examination malpractices and has restored the integrity and sanctity of the examination.
10. introduction of Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System (IBASS)

10 Challenges facing JAMB

1. Jamb Website Hacking

It has been observed that hackers have hacked into different websites to steal classified information. The  JAMB website is also affected by the hacking.

Hackers have continued to hack the JAMB website to download fresh questions and answers. This is achieved through the activities of corrupt JAMB officials and Yahoo Yahoo boys. Hacking makes the integrity of the questions questionable. The questions are downloaded and sold to dubious candidates who have an unfair advantage.

2. Problems with PIN Generation

Many applicants find it difficult to generate pins on the JAMB website during registration. Some applicants go through the frustration of visiting the website several times before they can complete their registration.

3. Accessing Jamb’s Website For Registration

Recently, prospective applicants register electronically on JAMB’s website. However, most candidates encounter problems accessing JAMB’s website to register.

This is caused by the poor design and development of JAMB’s website, a high amount of candidates registering on the site at the same time,  failure to use the specific bandwidth required for such a website.

4. Overcrowding At Registration and Examination Centers

JAMB conducts entrance examinations electronically which means that registration for its examination and sitting for the examination is also achieved electronically at approved cafes and registration centers.

However, it has been observed that these centers are not enough for the purpose of registration and examination. They are inadequate. Consequently, they become overcrowded. Candidates that want to register on time need to arrive early.

5. Candidates Are Not Familiar With Computer-Based Tests

Most candidates cannot use the computer to answer different questions with different levels of difficulty. They cannot use the mouse to navigate through the questions. Consequently, they are not comfortable answering the questions, and hence, they perform poorly in exams.

6. Bank Payment For Jamb Registration Is Problematic

Candidates experience problems when generating payment invoices online. Even after generating it, candidates still have to queue for long hours to pay for registration. Payment could be delayed by a network problem in the bank.

7. inadequate Examination Centers

For JAMB to successfully conduct entrance examinations for prospective applicants, it needs adequate examination centers. Since JAMB has switched to the computer-based test format, examination centers are inadequate.

These centers have a shortage of manpower and problems with logistics. Because of these, candidates are frustrated, there is massive examination malpractice and poor performance by candidates.

8. Manual Enrolment of Candidates

In the past, prospective applicants had to go to the JAMB offices and outlets, banks nationwide to purchase its forms. This made the process of registration tedious and problematic for candidates and their parents.

They had to return their completed forms in person to the zonal offices and the national headquarters in Abuja. In some instances, some applicants lost their application forms and consequently, lost the opportunity to write and pass the entrance examination.

9. The problem of Power Failure

Recently, candidates take the computer-based test conducted by JAMB. This has eliminated the setbacks and frustration encountered during the conduct of paper-based multiple-choice examinations conducted by JAMB.

Despite this benefit, the conduct of computer-based tests is at the mercy of epileptic and erratic power supply in Nigeria.

10. Internet Failure

The computer-based exam conducted by JAMB relies on the computer, internet connectivity, and speed. However, most examination centers have slow internet connectivity. In some cases, there is the failure of internet connectivity,

The internet bandwidth is slow, erratic and at times fails to connect. This makes candidates fail to answer all questions correctly and within the time allotted for answering them. Most candidates are logged out prematurely.

By extension, candidates perform poorly in the entrance examinations. It has also been observed that most centers use inferior and expired cables to provide internet connectivity. Some of them connect sub-standard cables to their systems.

JAMB Offices in Nigeria and their Address, Contact Details

Below are all the JAMB contact details for all the states in Nigeria.

Latest JAMB News