Again, Reps Move To Extend Validity Of UTME Results

The House of Representatives has commenced fresh moves to extend the validity of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result.

The lower chamber on Wednesday, following a motion moved by Akintunde Rotimi (APC, Lagos), resolved that the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) should extend the validity of the UTME result from the current one year to three years.

Mr. Rotimi, in his motion, argued that the one-year validity of the UTME results is not in tandem with the current reality.

“If candidates cannot secure admission into any tertiary institution of their choice in the academic year the exam was taken, the result no matter how good becomes useless,” Mr Rotimi said.

The lawmaker said since other examinations like the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) have infinite validity, the UTME results should have three years.

He expressed concerns about the “backlog of candidates waiting for admission into the limited vacancies in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions and its attendant pressure on the education system and parents.”