The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a stern warning to candidates taking the 2024 Unified Matriculation Examination (UTME) against bringing prohibited items into examination halls.
The Board has announced that all necessary arrangements have been made for the successful conduct of the examination.
Scheduled to take place from Friday, April 19, 2024, to Monday, April 29, 2024, the UTME will be held across over 700 Computer Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
JAMB has listed several items that are strictly prohibited in examination halls, including smart watches, smart lenses (unprescribed glasses), calculators, smart rings, smart pens, Bluetooth devices, and flash drives, among others.
JAMB in its weekly publication made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja, reiterated its zero-tolerance for examination infractions and other unwholesome practices that could be detrimental to the conduct of the examinations.
A total of 1, 985, 642 candidates had successfully registered to sit the 2024 UTME.
The Board said it has already directed candidates to print their 2024 UTME notification slips, which would enable them to know their examination centre as well as the date and time of their examination.
It similarly, urged candidates to adhere to the etiquettes and guidelines of the examination as stipulated in their notification slips and be at the venue of their examination at the scheduled time to afford them the opportunity of going through biometric verification before their admittance into the examination hall.
“Any candidate, who is 30 minutes late would not be allowed to sit the examination and would be marked as absent.
“In this regard, candidates are warned to steer clear of all the prohibited items, which have been banned from the examination centres.
“These items have been noted to have aided some dishonest candidates in their quest to perpetrate examination malpractice hence, the ban on these items is to protect the sanctity of the Board’s examinations.
“Some of these items are: smart watches, smart lens (unprescribed glasses), calculators, smart rings, smart pens, bluetooth devices, flash drives, among others.
“Candidates are also advised to desist from the practice of using decorative designs or tattoos on their palms as these can impact their biometric screening at the centre.
“Parents are kindly requested to refrain from being around the examination premises, as the Board strictly prohibits parents from being present during the examination.
“Any candidate found with a parent in the examination vicinity will face penalties,” JAMB stated.
