JAMB Registrar Segun Aina has defended the board’s plan to open a Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) centre in Canada.
He spoke in a post on X. A user had questioned the plan and argued that some UTME centres in Nigeria are poorly managed.
Aina said candidate numbers are not the main factor when JAMB sets up centres. The UTME is already held in about 10 countries to widen access to education. The board also runs it in correctional centres for the same reason.
He noted that North America has no UTME centre, even though the board has several in Africa. Some potential candidates have already made enquiries. More are expected after the announcement.
The Canadian centre will serve Nigerians who return home each year to study. It will also serve children of Nigerian service personnel posted abroad.
JAMB will not need to buy or rent a permanent facility. It will not need extra staff in Canada either. Instead, the board works with Nigerian High Commissions abroad. It sets up temporary spaces on their premises, and mission staff help run the exam.
“Has any money been spent on this so far? No!” Aina said. He explained that the board used its trip to a conference in Canada to make the arrangement.
He added that he welcomes scrutiny of his leadership. However, he urged critics to be fair and objective toward public officials.
