The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation
Board, Ishaq Oloyede has disclosed that parents and guardians can pay more for
the UTME examination, as the body seeks financial autonomy.
Oloyede, who appeared before the House of Representatives
Committee on Finance on Wednesday, said the body is seeking to exit the annual
budget but must be given permission to increase UTME fees to N5,000 from
N3,500.
The registrar disclosed that the fees were reduced in 2017
because the body is not a revenue-generating agency, however, inflation and
other economic realities now call for drastic measures.
When confronted by lawmakers on the impact of the proposed
increment on parents, Oloyede responded that some parents pay extra for miracle
centres.
He stated that the proposed increment is insignificant but
will allow the body to be fully independent.
“We cancelled some centres because we heard that some
parents paid N200,000 per child. There was a time we opened a platform for
upgrades, a lot of people paid
“I believe we should revert to the N5000 we were charging.
Given the inflation, if we charge N10,000– I am just giving it as an example,
nobody will ask the federal government for one kobo. I am not aware of anywhere
in the world, except maybe Finland— that charges as low as JAMB is charging. In
Finland, we know that everything is free,” he said.
However, Oloyede maintained that the body is comfortable
with the existing arrangement. He noted that the arrangement is offered as an
alternative in the face of the budget deficit facing the federal government.
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