The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed that parents and guardians may 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 get 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, but inflation and other economic realities now call for drastic measures.
When confronted by lawmakers about the impact of the proposed increase on parents, Oloyede replied that some parents pay extra for miracle centres.
He said the proposed increase was insignificant but would allow the body to be fully independent.
“We canceled some centers because we heard that some parents paid N200,000 per child. There was a time when we opened a platform for upgrades, many people paid
“I believe we should return to the N5000 we charged. Given the inflation, if we ask for 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 charges. In Finland we know everything is free,” he said.
However, Oloyede maintained that the body is comfortable with the existing arrangement. He noted that the arrangement is being offered as an alternative in light of the budget deficit facing the federal government.
