The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has commenced the accreditation of computer-based test (CBT) centres for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

In a statement on Sunday, Fabian Benjamin, JAMB spokesperson, said CBT centres that participated in the 2024 UTME without any issue should proceed to register their interest through the board’s centre management system (CMS) portal.

The JAMB’s spokesperson said all new centres willing to participate in the 2025 UTME exercise should visit https://www.jamb.gov.ng/Pdfs/CBT_centre_requirements.pdf to view the requirements for establishing a JAMB-approved CBT centre.

“Following this, these centres should notify the board in writing of their intention to participate in the accreditation exercise,” the statement reads.

“This notification should be addressed to the registrar of JAMB through the zonal director or state coordinator in their respective states.

“The zonal and state offices will create accounts for new centres on the CMS portal to facilitate their registration.

“All centres must conduct an autobot/autotest on a date that will be communicated to them, as part of their preparation for the physical accreditation visit by the board’s team.

“It is essential to note that the autobot/autotest is mandatory; only centres that successfully complete this test and meet the necessary criteria will be eligible for a physical visit.”

Benjamin said only centres that qualify will receive information regarding the date for the physical accreditation exercise, scheduled for next month.

”Centres that do not achieve satisfactory results on the autobot/autotest will not be revisited,” he said.

“Centres that meet all stipulated requirements will be approved and included by the board for the 2025 UTME registration and examination.”

The governing council of the Federal University Lokoja (FUL) in Kogi state has approved the dismissal of four lecturers over alleged sexual harassment and examination malpractice.

Chaired by Victor Ndoma-Egba, the council arrived at the decision during its second meeting.

The council appreciated the university management for following due process in the investigation and promised not to tolerate unethical conduct in the university.

Ndoma-Egba cautioned members of staff and lecturers against all forms of molestation, and urged students to always speak out when molested.

The council also implored the university to quickly process other pending cases of misconduct, especially the trending one in the faculty of science.

In 2020, the governing council of the Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Adamawa state, sacked two senior lecturers over allegations of victimisation and sexual harassment.

The lecturers, Yakubu Bobboi and Toma Fulani Mbahi, were accused of harassing one C. A. Bathon, a master’s degree student in their department.

The university also terminated the appointment of Bakari Girei of the registry department for alleged misappropriation of N1.1 million.

The National Examinations Council (NECO) says it has paid the allowances of all 72,138 examiners who were ad hoc staff in the 2024 senior school certificate examination (SSCE).

The council was responding to social media reports claiming it had deliberately refused to pay the examiners.

In a statement on Wednesday, Azeez Sani, the council spokesperson, said NECO began paying the examiners on bank basis since October 4, 2024.

“This was to ensure easy reconciliation and to avoid clumsiness in the payment process. NECO has completed the payment of the examiners allowances as at today Wednesday 13th November, 2024 according to the payment plan of the Council,” the statement reads.

“Also, it was discovered in the process that some Examiners submitted incorrect bank details, which the Council has reconciled with the affected examiners. Out of the 24 banks being used for the payment, all the banks have been cleared.

“It is therefore incorrect and false as being speculated recently in the social media that the Council has deliberately refused to pay Examiners engaged in the conduct of the 2024 SSCE Internal.

“The Management advice that any person(s) engaged by the Council should seek clarification/explanation from it, on matters oblivious to them before resorting to the Media.

“NECO wishes to reassure its esteemed Examiners and other ad-hoc Staff that the Council cherishes their invaluable contributions to the effective conduct of its examination and will therefore not take their renumeration for granted.”