The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has expressed its disagreement with the federal government’s decision to automatically deduct a portion of the registration fees paid by candidates for the Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME).
JAMB argues that this action is significantly diminishing its revenue contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF).
This was stated by JAMB’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, during his appearance before the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies. His statement came in response to the committee’s chairman, Hon. Afoji Obuku, who urged all agencies under the committee’s jurisdiction to increase their revenue and remittances to the government’s account.
Hon. Oyedeji Oyeshina, a member of the committee, noted that JAMB’s revenue generation and remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund had been on the decline since 2019. In response, Oloyede clarified that the board’s schedule of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from 2019 to 2022 showed a significant decrease in revenue remittances to the federal government’s coffers. This was due to a reduction in examination fees for UTME candidates.
He further elaborated that the examination fee was reduced from N5,000 to N3,500 in 2019. Following this reduction, the federal government initiated an automated deduction of the internal revenue remittances.
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The committee, which promised effective oversight of the examination body and other agencies, had previously requested various documents from JAMB. These included the annual audited accounts, procurement plans, schedule of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and evidence of remittances. The committee is currently scrutinizing a 389-page document submitted by JAMB, which includes a nominal roll of staff and the payroll, a list of core and non-core assets, and budget approval documents.