By Yekeen Nurudeen

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Is-haq Oloyede has disclosed that a total of 1,731,039 candidates are going to sit for the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME due to commence on Saturday, May13.

The examination which will hold in 634 centers across the country will run between May 13 and May 20.

Addressing a press conference at the headquarters of the Board in Bwari, Abuja on Tuesday, Oloyede said the figure was more than that of 2016 which was 1,272,284 with 464,287 increase.

According to him, a total of 1,736,571 candidates applied for the form while 1,731, 039 candidates registered for the examination.

Oloyede said adequate arrangements have been provided to ensure that the visually impaired candidates take part in the examination, adding that a total of 321 blind candidates had registered for the examination.

A breakdown of the figure revealed that Imo, Osun and Oyo States have the highest candidates for the matriculation examination with 101,868, 88, 653 and 87, 811 respectively.

The JAMB Registrar assured that the Board is prepared to undertake the conduct of the examination particularly with the successful conduct of the mock examination.

Speaking on the monitoring of the examination, he disclosed that the Board would continue to sustain the services of Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, the Nigeria Police, State Security Services, SSS, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and Special Security Forces in security-challenged areas to monitor examination centers and maintain close surveillance during the period.

He however warned that the Board would not hesitate to take necessary measures when the need arises in order to ensure the enforcement of due process.

“In order words, to quote the words of my immediate predecessor, I want to sound a note of warning once more to those who may be tempted to compromise our well organised arrangement that they shall be made to face the full weight of the law” Oloyede said.

He reiterated that the aim is to achieve a credible, reliable and valid examination system that would serve the purpose of placing the right candidates in the right disciplines in the right institutions of choice.