Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Saturday announced extension of registration for 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

It earlier  postponed the mock examination it scheduled for  Saturday, blaming the failure of its technical partners .

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, told newsmen in Abuja that sale of forms and registration would now close on May 5 instead of April 19.

Oloyede said that consequently, the 2017 UTME had also been postponed to start on Saturday May 13, and end on May 20  as against May 6 to May 20.

He added that the mock examination earlier slated for Saturday April, 8, 2017 had been put on hold so as to accommodate more candidates.

According to him, this is because the appropriate rehearsal and test-running of the new system has not been substantially achieved.

“The postponement of the UTME mock examination was due to failure from our technical partners. Yesterday (Friday) we told you people that if there was need for extension, we would do that.

“Today (Saturday), we put the system on trial and discovered that there were certain failures from our technical partners. The plan was to trial-test the readiness of our facilities and address the challenges that may likely confront the main examination.

“The mock examination remains free for willing candidates, even the fee due to the Computer Based Test (CBT) centre owners is being paid by JAMB.

“At this moment, we have realized that the plan to hold this mock examination was good for us. We are now in a  position to achieve better than we would have done without this trial testing.’’

“It is our strong conviction that this exercise is an experience for us; our systems analysis has revealed interesting findings that will engender a seamless and successful 2017 UTME exercise."

He  apologised to candidates and other stakeholders for the inconveniences experienced and thanked them for being part of the experiment.

“Every disappointment is a blessing and the blessing that will trail the suspension of this mock examination and extension of registration deadline will manifest in our main UTME by next month", he said

The Registrar added that the mock examination was also part of the board’s determination to ensure a successful UTME this year and in the future.

NAN