The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) is not a test of intelligence, but a placement tool to rank candidates for limited university admission slots in Nigeria, according to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, Professor Oloyede made it clear that the UTME is designed to assess readiness for tertiary education, not to measure how brilliant a student is.

“The UTME is not a test of intelligence or academic potential.

Its purpose is to rank candidates for limited admission slots, not to test how smart someone is,” he said.

Addressing rising complaints and conspiracy theories surrounding the UTME, Oloyede strongly dismissed any allegations of ethnic bias or administrative misconduct in the exam process.

“I take responsibility, not because I failed, but because that’s leadership.

I didn’t even realise people viewed issues around me through ethnic lenses.

We must rise above such profiling,” he stressed.