Every year, CBT operators moan about the high cost of preparing and running the UTME, and they count their losses at the end of the exercise while JAMB makes huge profits
The CBT operators made several appeals to JAMB management to increase registration fees in order for them to meet up with profits, but they paid no attention.
UTME 2022 is fast approaching, and JAMB has asked all CBT Owners and Administrators to conduct the yearly traditional Autobot Network test as a preparation for the upcoming UTME exams on or before December 1st, 2021.
According to the Joint Admission and Matriculation board examination bulletin. “As of the 2022 UTME exercise, JAMB would collect the approved N700 registration fee on behalf of the various (CBT) centers along with its UTME registration fees”.
“The board will thereafter remit whatever is collected to each registration center to its bank account on a weekly basis or at any time the center owners deem appropriate.”
The CBT owners disagree, claiming that despite investing substantially in the JAMB UTME every year, they have always come .
The group in their official Watsapp notes the following point.
“CBT center owners had constantly borne the burden of subsidizing the CBT usage in Nigeria, for many years After many years of inflations and more inflation, the center owners go home with a meager amount of N600 per candidate since 2016 despite the high and rising cost of rent, diesel, consumables, fuel, paper, electricity tariff, and even food.
Recall that several calls and efforts have been made during several CBT meetings with JAMB for an upward review of the cost of test center services rendered to JAMB by CBTC Owners. Jamb had consistently shielded away from the inevitable reality before it.
The era of raping a woman in labour is over! CBT centers can no longer function on N600 per candidate.
“The cost of computers has skyrocketed. Consumables have gone up. Diesel is unreachable, rent, and many more. Every year a CBT center owner spends at least N1million to get the center ready for an exam. Sometimes after the exercise, the center owner will not have up to 1,000 candidates which are N600,000.00.”
” He ends up in debt and another year jamb will come with instructions and pretend as if we are not in Nigeria.
I wonder how the Federal Government will sit and watch the largest investment in Education Technology to die. The CBT Center owners have a combined investment of N2trillion injected into the Nigerian economy. Yet they are not valued.
Let the truth be told, the Federal Government has ended the subsidy in kerosene, diesel, electricity, cooking gas, and is planning a total removal of subsidy in fuel from December 31st. This has caused every sphere of living in Nigeria to rise. Their reason is that subsidy is no longer sustainable.”
“Now the obvious reality is that at the same price of N600 per candidate in 2022, CBTC owners may not effectively deliver quality test center services to the nation as it is no longer sustainable to subsidize the cost of CBT exams in Nigeria over the high cost of everything. It cost about 60 million Naira to set up a CBT center as of November 2021.”
