The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has suspended the compulsory use of the National Identification Number (NIN) for the registration of candidates for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and Direct Entry until 2021.

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this during a briefing at the headquaters of the board in Bwari, Abuja. According to him, the move was to provide more time for candidates to get their national identification numbers.

It was gathered that the decision to suspend the use of NIN for 2020 UTME registration followed criticisms from the public over the poor timing of the policy and the difficulty in obtaining the NIN by prospective candidates.

With this development, candidates can now apply for the 2020 UTME/DE which is set to commence January 13, 2020 without NIN.

The date for the commencement of the JAMB examination remains March 14th, 2020.

The compulsory use of NIN will now be considered as from 2021 to enable the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to have registration centres around computer-based test (CBT) centres across the country for candidates who do not have the NIN to avoid difficulties in registering and writing the examination.