The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that the use of email would no longer be required for the processing of registration for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry.

Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, said this while speaking with journalists on Tuesday evening.

According to him, the email would only be requested at the successful completion of the registration exercise by candidates to access information on the examination.

He explained that the new system is to forestall exposure of candidates’ information to dubious cyber cafe operators and other criminal elements who in the course of UTME/ DE registration steal email passwords to perpetrate fraud.

He revealed that over a dozen fraudsters had gained access into an intranet site of the board and altered profiles of the board’s ad hoc staff, reportedly diverting over N10 million meant for their allowances.

Oloyede said the board uncovered the fraud after a careful investigation, which led to the arrest of one Sahabi Zubairu from Takum in Taraba State and some others.

He said government policy requires that money meant for ad hoc staff are paid directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries, a situation that gave room for the kind of challenge the board was facing.

The JAMB boss said, “As from Thursday, 15, April 2021, candidates will no longer be required to provide any email address during registration. Consequently, candidates will have the following options to access their profile during or after registration.”