The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, on Wednesday, said the reduction in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Board Examination, UTME registration fees by President Muhammadu Buhari was to alleviate the burden of the cost of the examination on parents.
Recall that Mr Buhari had approved a reduction in the cost of UTME forms from N5,000 to N3,500 while the cost of National Examination Council, NECO, form has been reduced from N11,350 to N9,850.
The Head of Media of the board, Fabian Benjamin, in a statement in Abuja, said Mr Buhari was concerned about the burden of the registration fees on the plight of ordinary Nigerians.
The statement reads: “In Mr. President’s determination to alleviate poverty and ensure that every Nigerian desirous of tertiary education is not deprived, government had introduced policies and incentives to boost the economy of ordinary Nigerians and has seen this reduction as a platform to bring more Nigerians on the tertiary education template.
“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board had in less than two years shown commitment to the avowed direction of the Buhari-led administration by returning over 15 billion.
“Government had deliberated extensively on how to ensure that every Nigerian benefitted from the prudent management of resources in JAMB and came up with the fee reduction.
“The Board has been charged to sustain its known inclusiveness, transparency, accountability and the enviable position it is occupying amongst global examination bodies.”
