JAMB 2022: Controversies trail generation of profile codes

Mohammed Oluwatimileyin Taoheed

Students across the country have cried out over their inability to get the profile code introduced by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB.

Earlier, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed that a larger percentage of about 60 per cent of candidates who sat for the 2022 examination conducted by the body were females.

In an interview with one of the affected candidates, Shittu Mubarak, he recounted the difficulty he as went through in getting his name registered for the exam.

He expressed his inability to register for the examination till the time of filing this report.

Shittu said, “I have an issue with this year’s Jamb registration and I have sent my NIN to 55019 as usual but I couldn’t get any profile code.

“To worsen the situation, they keep deducting 50 naira each time I sent it. I have spent 5,500 now which is even huge than the amount that they asked for the registration.”

He proceeded by saying, “Whenever I press the NIN, it will bring the message that it has been registered earlier with a number. While checking the number, I saw that it was not my number and I have to go to the MTN office in Offa to track it. Unfortunately, all efforts to no avail. I spoke with one educational consultant and he urged me not to stop trying because I have already lost hope. Then, I continued the tough attempts daily and when I saw that the ugly message repeated itself, I went to the Jamb Office in Ilorin. The man I met there assured me to go back home on the ground that they would call me when they have rectified the issue. I am here still waiting for his call. I’m helpless. I have spent time and money.”

NIN is National Identification Number made mandatory for every Nigerian to have, according to the federal government. It is a unique number for every individual linked to their bank accounts, sim card, and any other necessary official registration.

It will be recalled that was under the first tenure of the JAMB boss, the profile code was introduced and used as a requirement for the registration of the final examination into tertiary institutions.

However, until recently, this has not only caused any confusion.

The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Profile Code of the body is a 10 digit number used to complete profile registrations on the JAMB portal.

It is matched with the candidate’s biometric data and other details during verification, authentication, and registration of the exam.

In a telephone conversation with a top official of the body in Kwara State who pleaded anonymity, the source disclosed that the body is working hard and taking measures to make things work out while preventing further setbacks.

“We are working on it. Experts have escalated the issues. Let them try the already provided official gmail but if the situation persists, they should exercise patience for we are still working on it”, the Kwara State Jamb Zonal Officer assured.

Addressing the issue, Mr. Musa Mohammed who is the Jamb Zonal Officer for Sokoto State, explained that the major cause of the problem is that candidates have either failed to link their phone numbers with their NIN or they have not been verified by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

He blamed the network providers for the delay while explaining the fault is not the examination body.

“Every GSM has their mode of sending the NIN to us via 55019. If no response appears, it means the line has not been linked. Even if you are working on your Android phone, you will see that it is slow. So it is not JAMB, it is the providers of the network service,” he said.

However, all efforts to reach the National Spokesperson of the examination body, Mr. Benjamin Fabian, proved abortive.