The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB has explained the reason why the cost of Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME) form was reduced.

The Board said the registration fee was reduced to in order to alleviate the burden of the cost of the examination on parents.

The Board's Head of Media, Dr Fabian Benjamin said this in a statement on Wednesday, November 28, 2018, while reacting to the reduction of UTME and SSCE fees announced by the Federal Government.

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The statement reads:

“In Mr President’s determination to alleviate poverty and ensure that every Nigerian desirous of tertiary education is not deprived, the government had introduced policies and incentive to boost the economy of ordinary Nigerians and has seen this reduction as a platform to bring more Nigerians on the tertiary education template.

“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board had in less than two years shown commitment to the avowed direction of the President Buhari-led administration by returning over 15 billion.

“Government had deliberated extensively on how to ensure that every Nigerian benefited from the prudent management of resources in JAMB and came up with the fee reduction.

“The Board has been charged to sustain its known inclusiveness, transparency, accountability and the enviable position it is occupying amongst global examination bodies.”

On Wednesday, November 28, 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari approved a reduction in the cost of the Unified Tertiary Examination and Matriculation Examination (UTME) form to N3500.