The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the introduction of a new feature in the ongoing registration for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The examination body issued a statement on Thursday by its Head of Media and Protocol, Fabian Benjamin, which said the feature, ‘Know Your Registration Officer,’ aims to fortify the registration process.

According to Benjamin, the new feature will guard candidates against abuse and manipulation.

He noted that candidates who are applying for the 2021 UTME, which is due to close on 15th May 2021 are advised to immediately raise an alarm the moment they find out that the picture on the screen does not match the face of the person registering them.

The statement read in part “To further fortify the registration process and ensure that candidates know where and who is registering them for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination Board( UTME) and Direct Entry (DE) exercise, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) has made provisions for the image of the Registration Officer to be displayed at the corner of the screen being used to register the candidate besides his biometric details that had been captured.”

The governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, has restated his administration’s commitment to the development of education sector in the state.

Mohammed stated this at a ceremony to commence the distribution of learning materials to Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) learning centres, in Bauchi.

He said that the state government had implemented several policies and programmes to enhance learning and promote the overall development of the education sector.

The governor commended the Federal Government for its support to the state under the Universal Basic Education programme.

Mohammed said that the BESDA programme had led to the procurement of about N900m worth of learning and teaching materials in the state.

In his speech, Chairman, Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board, Abubakar Sirimbai, urged the state government to recruit more teachers to enhance learning.

Sirimbai said that recruiting more teachers would make the education system more efficient and rewarding, while lamenting that the state had not recruited teachers since 2015.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to fund the 104 unity schools across the country to enable them deliver quality education.

The Minister of State For Education, Emaka Nwajuba, disclosed this to newsmen in Keffi after inspecting facilities at the Federal Government College, Keffi.

His visit was to inspect reconstruction work on the female hostel destroyed by a fire incident which reportedly claimed the life of a female student.

He said the present administration placed premium on education as the engine of Nigeria’s economic and technological growth.

Nwajuba said that the administration was critical about the quality of service being provided in all the unity schools.

He stated that the Federal Government was expecting proper usage of the fund made available to the schools towards delivery of qualitative education and discipline to the students entrusted in their care.

The Minister of State reassured that the present administration would not fail in its responsibilities of making the schools models for academic excellence and discipline.

He, however, appealed to those entrusted with the care and management of the schools to always ensure that they do their best to justify the confidence reposed on them.

He said it had become imperative that the colleges established as centres of unity and excellence must meet such standards.

The minister then warned that the Federal Government would continue to monitor all the schools to ensure the judicious usage and application of their funds.