The House of Representatives has called upon the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) to prolong the registration period for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by an additional two weeks.

The House also mandated the relevant Committee on Education and Legislative Compliance to enforce strict compliance.

The decision of the House was sequel to the adoption of a motion moved at plenary on Thursday by Bello Shinkafi.

Moving the motion, the lawmaker said JAMB was established by law to register and conduct UTME for the purpose of admitting candidates into the tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Shinkafi said the 2024 UTME which commenced on 15th January ended on 26th February 2024.

The lawmaker noted, “We are all aware of the painful economic situation prevailing in the Country. As a result, many families have been constrained from registering their wards, by this timeline.”

He expressed worry that without an extension of the registration, many candidates would not be able to register and participate in the exercise, saying that means there would not be wide coverage and participation in this year’s UTME in Nigeria.

Shinkafi added: “Convinced that your quick response to the extension of time by two weeks will encourage the Parents of these candidates to persistently register their children. Importantly this will re-assure the public of the confidence in this current Administration in Nigeria.”

The House resolved: “House to mandate the JAMB to extend the registration for two weeks to enable the anticipated potential candidates to register for the 2024 UTME.”