#NoMoreJambFraud JAMB’S NEWEST UTME REGISTRATION POLICY; AT WHOSE EXPENSE? On September 14, 2014, Jamb announced her decision to regulate the registration process which according to them is aimed at making it malpractice free. This one dimensional decision did not go down well With Accredited CyberCafé Operators as it was targeted at forcing them to swallow the bitter pill of this sudden decision. Besides, operators felt short changed as they were not carried along in the decision making process even though they were seen as stakeholders or partners in progress who have helped in nurturing the novel idea of biometric examination registration with which began about three years ago. Some operators were even pointing to misguided advice being offered by Jamb Web Consultants as well as Computer Based Test (CBT) Centre Partners who were brought into the picture barely two year ago in the very first CBT examination exercise the board conducted. This is “a winner wins all” route which would benefit the CBT Cartel, Prof. ‘Dibu Ojerinde himself (as he is alleged to bankroll at least a CBT centre in every state of the federation and intends to continue making money after leaving JAMB) and in effect make Café operators run out of business. Aside from this, other downside of the policy is that it would further populate the labour market as about 6,000 cybercafes who employ average of five people may have to prune down to about one or two; this is exclusive of about 50,000 indirect jobs created through the sales of scratch cards by accredited dealers and retailers. How about suppliers of papers, stationeries, telecommunications operators who provide bandwidths, printing accessories, computer technicians and sundry peripheral service providers that aid day to day smooth running of cybercafés in peak and off peak periods of registration? All of these would add up to the labour market being flooded with over 100,000 youths in an economy whose latest year on year job creation is now way below 30% (source: AIT Business Hour, September, 24,2014). Another pain this draconian policy would inflict on students is that they would have to embark on unnecessary but avoidable journey (in 21st century?) and suffer the pain of queuing for their turn as CBT centres, even if they have dedicated servers (downtimes are inevitable in our climes here) may not be able to attend to the bevy of students who will daily throng the so called few registration points to register. Of course this would bring us back to the era of pre-2005 where touting held sway in Jamb Office in Gerard, Ikoyi, where unscrupulous elements (called agents) used to capitalize on students’ queue in scorching sun, heavy rain or repeated visit to registration points by candidates and these candidates may end up paying heavily from their nose for a service technology could easily make accessible in the neighbourhood even on some recent make of smartphones while they just walk into any business centre to print out the completed form via wireless medium or what have you. This is without mentioning the effects on parents’ pocket and the risk of travelling by candidates as for instance; only 13 centres are supposedly strategically located in a highly metropolitan state like Lagos that erstwhile had over 1,100 accredited Café Centres (evidence available). Suffice it to infer that some states would have as low as just three or four centres. Speculations were even rife that some CBT centres have started turning down the offer as the bogus sum of five million Naira demanded from them by Dibu and his so called consultants is way out of reach. What with illegal sales of access codes that has already begun by some Jamb Staff nationwide. One then begins to wonder if Jamb is now full Public Liability Company or not-for-profit institution annually subvented by Government in line with Jamb Act of 1978. Without sounding immodest, Jamb has allowed its overt commerciality to becloud its innovation lately. For instance, the agreement Jamb had with the Cybercafe Operators was that they would refund the fee of N10,000 paid by each of the accredited Cafes since inception in 2011 but they never refunded any to us ever since. This is against what WAEC, NECO, NABTEB and other examination bodies with more or similar numbers of candidates do by allowing open access. Jamb also impose a certain brand of fingerprint scanner on cafes for between N20,000 – N15,000 (depending on when one bought) SOLELY through one of her consultants nationwide. These other bodies cited above allows fingerprint scanner as low as N1,500 and café operators or even individuals buy wherever they desire. One wonders what would become of all these examination registration facilities’ expenses by us totaling about N400 Million Naira in Jamb’s coffer. An addition to this is the proliferation of scratch cards as the card used for registering can no longer be used to check result. Different scratch cards are used to check result, print admission letter, print detail result and correct information or change course. This amounts to an average of N6,000 per candidate (bit.ly/1uPXNoj and bit.ly/1xqgsvy). As if it was not enough, cards like Jamb e-facility card that was designed to be used five times are now used once and if students click more than once (in a clime like ours where bandwidth quality and power fluctuates) the card can no longer be used and some candidates have accused café operators of sharp practices and we have had to bear the cost or some candidates have had to buy cards severally since they must print admission letter even though the Professor over-celebrates this feat in print media to high heavens at the detriment of its inherent shortcomings ignoring whose ox is gored whereas this is a given in other climes. This shady phenomenon of one-click exhaustion was experienced by virtually all operators in this present admission exercise being conducted by schools. Besides, we (café operators) would have loved to notify the Almighty Professor Dibu’s Jamb of the development but chances are that he may wish away our suggestions after all we are mere Cybercafé Operators, not big players like the CBT Centres’ Cartel. In the Professor’s estimation, we are faceless people who might have helped to grow the sector to billions of Naira that now attracts the Mafias who did not see the oil, banking and other capital intensive industry but a growing examination registering industry where both small and big players can play and earn something for themselves and their dependants. He will be shocked the calibres of people who has investment in the industry. In puncturing Dibu’s allegation against Cybercafes, it should be stated here that Jamb brochures and syllabus are no longer easily accessible by poor students (except they spend money printing over a hundred page e-brochure) who barely eke out money to obtain their UTME forms, this shirk of responsibility was also blamed on cybercafe operators. It is noteworthy here to state that no system or sector is ever free of charlatans from politics to banking to education or what have you there is no Utopianism anywhere. The Enron gate in America perfectly exemplifies this. Coming back home, the bank consolidation policy which took off in 2006 by Prof.Soludo repositioned the banking industry in Nigeria and fetched the Prof global accolades by TIME, Fitch Rating, The Economist and other reputable bodies year in year out whilst the model (fully or partially) was even replicated in the insurance and other sectors of the economy but as it is the wont in any system where we have humans there would always be a Judas out of every twelve disciples; we all knew what became of the lofty policy barely three years down the line, no thanks to some players from within and without the banking industry. Need I say it behoves the managers of the system to put tested checks and balances and keep innovating the wheel as things evolve with the pace of technology where about four months equals a year. Even Jamb cannot say it is Uhuru yet in her primary role of conducting examination, that was why it kept seizing tens and even hundreds of thousands of result every year and CBT was invented to address this. I am cock sure Jamb would not assume perfection as some evil elements would already be devising how to beat the system and would soon be milking some overzealous parents who prefer their wards to buy their way in and if possible out of the University, Polytechnic or College system but this could easily be nipped in the bud by being a step ahead of their expected Shenanigans and doubly punish when found guilty. This would serve as deterrent to other evil minded people. Is the Almighty Professor dead sure the new system where there would be as few registration centres as 13 in metropolitan Lagos State! and far fewer in other states would not create room for extortion or even some so called Jamb staff who would make brisk business out of the mammoth crowd through their “agents”? If I may ask, did Jamb in her site not ask people to report operators who charge more than N700 or can’t parents be sensitized on the use of this platform or even an SMS platform where they can easily send complaint to with evidence? Haba Prof!, all these allegations of overcharging candidates, handling fake registration numbers to candidates, fake seat numbers, fake e-Registration numbers (as if they are the organiser of the examination), error in choice of courses/institutions due to mix up of templates and gender on e-registration slips are issues that can easily be addressed in conjunction with Cybercafe Operators which could also serve as a good feedback if JAMB is sincere. Besides, how come the Cafe Operators that were labelled fraudulent in one breath were given NYSC registration by Jamb to register Corpers in the same breath? Obviously, this is all a case of calling the dog a bad name so as to hang it bit.ly/1vnSqgN. Sometimes I wonder if man is made for technology or technology is made for man to simplify and re-simplify how things are presently done. The issue of double registration can easily be nipped since it is pedestal knowledge that the thumbprint, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strands and retina balls are unique identifiers of humans. A check can easily be imposed on this that anyone no matter the circumstance who wants to register someone with other fingers other than the thumb (if the thumb does not register which is one out of a thousand case) would have to download two attestation forms (one for operator and one for candidate) and complete it stating the reason for this. This may be uploaded in a pdf link in Jamb website and probably with EFCC warning and all. It would be signed by the operator with three classes of witness namely, a religious leader of a registered religious institution, a lawyer and a senior civil servant from level 15 and above. This would then be sent with the operators’ identity number which is unique to the dedicated e-mail address in the website and after 24 hours, a response could be sent to the operator acknowledging the receipt of the mail and asking him to go ahead with the registration. A copy would be printed and handed to the candidate while operator keeps one in case of accusation or for other evidential purpose. The check here is any operator caught doing fingerprinting outside the thumb without approval would be arrested as the intention is deemed ulterior and as such perpetrators of double registration can easily be nipped, prosecuted and blacklisted in Jamb website and newspaper as it would have been signed in agreement online filled by operators. Other purging exercise can also be carried out by scrutinizing operators more stringently than ever before accreditation to sift the wheat from shaft. All of these and other better measures could have been put in place if Jamb had collaborated Cybercafe operators but it was not to be bit.ly/1vnSoWe. In sum, Professor Dibu is by no means an achiever given his intimidating CV as first Professor of tests and measurements in Nigeria and a top one globally as well as one who has innovated so many things in conducting examination as a body in NECO and now JAMB in the country. This is why he should avoid his profile being tainted by any overzealous Jamb cartel and “Consultants” whose aim is to milk the students, parents and kill small players that today’s leading economies cannot push aside as they continue to grow steadily, while they smile to the bank. He should not allow them to rubbish his enviable achievement in the education sector in Nigeria, nay globally; he should match the advices and hidden interest of these consultants with the reality we have on ground while uppermost should be interests of final service consumers, the students. It is still not too late to reverse the latest centralization of exam registration which may lead to outcry from students, parents and other well meaning stakeholders. We fervently pray that all these highlighted points alongside good reasoning prevail in time before it is too late. This is our stand in Jamb Accredited Cybercafe Operators of Nigeria
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 07:14:24 +0000
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