Almost two million candidates registered for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) as the exam began today.

The examination, conducted by the Joint Matriculation and Admissions Board (JAMB), will be written across 600 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide and is expected to end on April 4, 2020.

According to JAMB, the registered number of candidates is the highest so far in the 41-year history of the board.

To ensure smooth conduct of the examination, JAMB had deployed operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Department of State Services (DSS) to CBT centres and will also monitor activities within each hall through Closed-Circuit Television Cameras (CCTV).

The board had, in its weekly bulletin, said 63 centres would not be participating in the 2020 UTME due to various infractions, with 16 of them suspended only after the February 18 mock examination.

A breakdown of the 16 latest suspended CBT centres showed five were from Kano State, two from Gombe State, two from Bauchi State, and one from Cross River, Delta, Imo, Kwara, Lagos, and Zamfara states, as well as Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has suspended the compulsory use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for candidates sitting for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) until 2021.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had disclosed that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) will have registration centres around computer-based test (CBT) centres across the country for candidates who do not have the NIN to avoid difficulties in registering and writing the examination.

Prof. Oloyede, during a meeting with commissioners of education from the 36 states of the federation and other stakeholders, stressed that the need to introduce the initiative was based on the law made by the National Assembly, and anybody that fails to implement the NIN is liable on conviction.

The decision to suspend the process is coming on the heels of criticisms about the timing of the new policy by the examination body and the difficulty in obtaining the NIN.

Prof. Oloyede who stated this during a press briefing said the decision to suspend the policy is to allow enough time for candidates to acquire their NIN.

Registration for the 2020 JAMB UTME is expected to commence on January 13, and it stated that candidates can now apply with or without the NIN.

UTME prospective candidates since the announcement by JAMB had stormed the NIMC office on a daily basis in a bid to get their registration done.

Queues formed at the entrance of the NIMC office by an influx of candidates were seen at all centres as the date for the examination fast approached.

Some prospective candidates lamented the stress they had to go through in registering, stating that the availability of computers was a major concern.