Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said candidates who will participate in the optional mock Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME) will pay N1,000 as service charge to computer-based test (CBT) centres where they will sit for the examination.
The examination body said it increased the service charge and that of other consumables from N600 to N1,000 because of the high cost of diesel in the country.
The mock examination will hold on April 9 in some select CBT centres.
The board announced this in the Weekly Bulletin released by its Head of Media and Protocol, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, yesterday in Abuja.
JAMB had promised to provide soft-landing for CBT centres due to the hike in the price of diesel.
The bulletin reads: “All candidates who had indicated their interest to sit for the optional mock-UTME are to pay N1,000 to the CBT centre, where they are assigned to write the examination, as a service charge.
“The optional mock examination was introduced by the board to give candidates the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the CBT environment.
“The candidates who indicated their interest to take the examination are to pay the N1,000 at their respective centres for the use of the private facilities deployed for the examination.
“However, candidates assigned to JAMB-owned centres would not be required to pay for the use of the centres. Much as the board would like to keep the cost at a minimum, the prevailing high cost of diesel and other consumables has necessitated the increase from N600 to N1,000 to enable the CBT centres provide the needed infrastructure, as partners of the board, to host the examination, which is scheduled to hold on Saturday, April 9, 2022.”
“The board has thought, through this increase, and resolved that instead of cancelling the mock-UTME, which introduction has improved candidates’ confidence in sitting the examination owing to the high cost of diesel, it is better to increase the service charge to make the exercise worthwhile to the participating centre.”
