Coronavirus: JAMB uses ticketing to ‘resolve over 4,000 candidates’ complaints’

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said it is taking full advantage of technology by using the ticketing system to address candidates’ enquiries during the period of lockdown.

The board said over 4,000 cases have been resolved without any physical contact between staff and candidates within 24 hours of receiving the complaints.

The ticketing system was introduced in 2018 to address the challenge of candidates crowding the Board’s offices.

JAMB said the system engenders transparency by way of tracking complaints, provides a conducive atmosphere for candidates seeking corrections or amendments of data and, ensures that genuine and necessary feedback is easily obtained from candidates for planning.

In its weekly bulletin sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, the spokesperson of the board, Fabian Benjamin, said candidates usually thronged its offices for all complaints while some send letters which might not get to the Board before the ticketing regime.

“However, with the ticketing regime, all a complainant or enquirer needs do is to visit support.jamb.gov.ng to state his/her complaints and a number would be assigned to him/her for ease of tracking of the complaint in case the complaint is not addressed at all or addressed satisfactorily. This is, however, a rare occurrence as all tickets are subjected to further scrutiny by higher authorities,” he said.

Mr Benjamin said the ticketing platform aids safety of parties concerned as it conforms to the social distancing protocols even before it was globally embraced.

He said it creates transparency and provides the board with the opportunity to track not only the official that resolved the complaint but also the time taken to do so.

“In addition, the system is provisioned with a reporting or an alarm system that alerts the Registrar/Chief Executive as to the status of any ticket raised and the action(s) taken on it as well as the actors involved,” he said.

“It is highly gratifying to note that within the few days of the lockdown, over four thousand cases have been successfully resolved with each being resolved within 24 hours.”

Complaints

He said some of the complaints and enquiries received through the ticketing platform ranged from candidates asking when they are to start printing their original results slips to steps for changing programmes and institutions, among others.

“Perhaps it would be expedient to state that the facility for change of programmes or institutions have been activated while results are ready for printing but these processes have been put on hold because the Presidential Directive mandating citizens to stay at home is still in force. As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic is over, the printing of the result would be enabled while been activated.”

He urged candidates to visit the Board’s website for all processes that do not require biometric verification.

“In this regard, they are enjoined to wait for the lifting of the restrictions on movement and social interactions to undertake those processes requiring biometric verification,” he said.

He said the Board has noticed that some candidates have been offered admissions but are yet to accept or reject such offers.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the board developed a mobile app that candidates can use instead of visiting CBT centres.

The app enables candidates to access the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) for all their admission-related issues from the comfort of their homes, the agency said.

Candidates were advised to download the CAPS Mobile App on android play stores, apple store, among others, to check their admissions status and do the needful.

Issues

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the federal government has ordered the closure of all schools to help contain the spread.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) also embarked on an indefinite strike after the expiration of its two weeks warning strike on March 23 over the non-payment of salaries of their members who failed to enroll into the federal government’s IPPIS, a payroll software mandated for all public officials.