The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is considering introducing life skills and critical thinking into the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to broaden the assessment of candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions.
The registrar, Prof. Segun Aina, disclosed this on Wednesday during an appearance on NTA’s Good Morning Nigeria programme, explaining that the proposed reforms would assess candidates beyond their knowledge of academic subjects.
He said UTME scores reflected candidates’ performance relative to their peers rather than their absolute level of knowledge.
“It is not how good you are that your JAMB score speaks to. It is more about how you rank against others,” He said.
Aina illustrated the point with an example, saying a score of 299 could be considered low if most candidates in the same examination cycle scored above 300.
“So, we must put this thing in proper perspective,” he said.
On the proposed reforms, Aina said a committee of education stakeholders and experts had been established to recommend how the skills could be assessed, including whether they should be introduced as separate components or integrated into existing UTME subjects.
The registrar also announced measures to help candidates update personal information, including registered telephone numbers and email addresses they could no longer access.
He said the board had also introduced a National Identification Number (NIN) alignment process, allowing candidates to correct their details with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and align them with their JAMB profiles.
“Before, you could not change your name or your date of birth on the JAMB profile,” he said, adding that the new process would help candidates whose admission prospects had been affected by discrepancies in their records.
“Thousands of people were stuck. They completed their degrees; they couldn’t go to university because this wasn’t possible. It is now possible,” he added.
Aina urged candidates to visit JAMB’s official website and social media platforms for information on the new procedures and other services offered by the board.
