A cross-section of candidates writing the 2017 JAMB and UTME computer based examination at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Pro-metrics Centre, in Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State on Saturday (13/5/17).
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About 37,062 applicants shortlisted nationwide for police recruitment exercise were on Friday screened by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The screening was done across 156 Computer Based Test Centres (CBT) and administered by JAMB.
About 133,324 applicants applied for the vacant positions but only 6,000 successful candidates are expected to be recruited at the end of the exercise.
Successful applicants are expected to proceed to Police training colleges, after which they would be integrated into the Nigeria Police Force.
Istifanus Shettima, Head of Training, Force Headquarters, who monitored the screening exercise in Abuja in the company of the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said JAMB was involved in the exercise to ensure transparency and credibility of the selection process.
Shettima, who is also an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), said the target of the Police is to recruit officers with excellent standard through JAMB processes.
“We want to maintain standard in the Nigeria Police Force that is why we brought JAMB in. We know JAMB has been very excellent in conducting exams. We want excellent people to join the police force,” he said.
Prof. Oloyede commended the Force for enlisting the board to handle its recruitment exercise.
He said the board was not sure if the Police Force would comply with its rules and regulations when it first approached them with the offer to screen its applicants.
The JAMB registrar vowed that the board would continue to maintain standard while ensuring that all its screening exercises remained transparent.
“I must congratulate the Nigerian Police Force because when they came we were not sure but they complied with all the agreement about setting the standard and ensuring that there will be no waiver at any point of the exercise.
“We have agencies who believe in us and they patronize us, particularly those who want to do things transparently”.
“But if you don’t want to do something that is not transparent, JAMB is not the right place to go.
“If you know that you want to set the rules and you want the rules to be enforced, and transparently so, JAMB offers a service at a cost that you cannot get elsewhere because we are using already established public service facility.
“All we ensure is that there must be set standard, and the set standard must be enforced,” Prof. Oloyede said.