The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has declared that it will not release the names of the top scorers for the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, announced this during a press briefing in Bwari on Monday, April 29, stating that the board considers its UTME to be only a ranking examination.
He also mentioned that the board aims to prevent another occurrence similar to the ‘Mmesoma saga’ that arose after the 2023 UTME concluded.
Recall that, Ejikeme Mmesoma, a 19-year-old student, falsely claimed a score of 362, contrasting with her actual score of 249 on the 2023 UTME JAMB portal.
Oloyede said, “It is common knowledge that the Board has, at various fora, restated its unwillingness to publish the names of its best-performing candidates, as it considers its UTME as only a ranking examination on account of the other parameters that would constitute what would later be considered the minimum admissible score for candidates seeking admission to tertiary institutions.
“Similarly, because of the different variables adopted by respective institutions, it might be downright impossible to arrive at a single or all-encompassing set of parameters for generating a list of candidates with the highest admissible score, as gaining admission remains the ultimate goal. Hence, it might be unrealistic or presumptive to say a particular candidate is the highest scorer given the fact that such a candidate may, in the final analysis, not even be admitted.
“However, owing to public demand and to avoid a repeat of the Mmesoma saga as well as provide a guide for those, who may want to award prizes to this set of high-performing candidates, the Board appeals to all concerned to always verify claims by candidates before offering such awards,” he explained.
