The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has shifted the dates for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) and mock examinations following reports of widespread delay in registration.

Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Register of JAMB made the announcement at a news conference after a two-day meeting with stakeholders in Abuja on Saturday.

Oloyede said that the board had identified challenges in registration and as such proffering solution to them.

He said that at the end of the meeting, stakeholders had recommended a two-week extension for the exercise fixing the new date for May 29.

The board had earlier fixed the deadline for registration for May 15.

However it extended the date owing to challenges candidates faced during registration.

Oloyede said that following this, 2021 UTME Mock earlier scheduled for May 20 would now hold on June 3, while the UTME would hold from June 19 to July 3.

“Field reports showed a huge improvement in the processes. As at today, 1,134,424 candidates have so far registered.

“Stakeholders undertook on the spot assessment of the CBT centres and discovered lapses which warranted the extension.

“The challenges among others include candidates non-compliance with registration requirements, using the wrong format to generate profile code and using multiple phone numbers, among others,” he said.

Oloyede said that the board would disburse a monitoring team to the states of the federation and direct CBT centers to stop selling e-pins.

He said that the board would sanction any CBT centers that violated the board’s requirements.

He, therefore, implore the Ministry of Education to help discourage parents to desist from registering underage children to pursue tertiary education.