JAMB to CBT centres: No CCTV, no result, no payment

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has mandated all computer-based testing (CBT) centres to install close circuit television (CCTV) for surveillance or risk being cancelled as an examination centre in the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Ishaq Oloyede, the chief executive officer and registrar at JAMB disclosed this in the weekly bulletin of the board published recently while reviewing JAMB’s terms of engagement with CBT centres.

Oloyede, who was addressing reported cases of constant power outages and tampering with CCTV cameras decried recurrent power failures despite precautionary measures like alternative power sources in place.

The former vice-chancellor at the University of Ilorin reiterated that the board had been overwhelmed with reports of switching off CCTV to give room for malpractice.

He then, therefore stated that a CBT centre risks losing payment for any examination disrupted on account of power failure.

He said that any centre that tampers with CCTV cameras and fails to cover any of its allotted examination sessions would have the results of such sessions cancelled in line with the policy of “no CCTV, no result, no payment”.

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Besides, Oloyede hinted that in addition the board will prosecute and delist any centre found defaulting, provided JAMB is convinced of any recorded or noticeable infractions or malpractice.

“Any centre that tampers with its CCTV system or router will pay for its reconfiguration.

“The CCTV must cover all areas of the examination centre including the biometrics verification point, holding rooms, walkway (if there is any), examination halls, server room, entrance and exit doors, among others,” he said.

Moreover, he commanded the use of an appropriate number of switches which according to him must be connected to a UPS

The publication revealed that JAMB visited 830 CBT centres during the board’s accreditation exercise conducted recently to ascertain readiness.

According to the report, a total of 627 centres passed the integrity test while over 200 were rejected because they failed to specifications.

Earlier, JAMB fixed January 14, 2023, for the commencement of registration and April 29, 2023, for the UTME.

In addition, JAMB counselled candidates to create their profiles on its portal to avoid any delay during their registration.