Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has laid the foundation stone for a N1 billion Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) zonal office and a Computer-Based Tests (CBT) centre in the state.

Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony on Monday in Maiduguri, Zulum said: “The N1 billion JAMB zonal office and CBT centre projects are the modest contribution of the state government towards the national education service delivery in the Northeast.”

Zulum added that, when completed, the JAMB zonal office and CBT centre will serve as a regional hub for candidates sitting for their examinations for entry into institutions of higher education in the country.

Besides upgrading the zonal JAMB complex, Zulum said, “We need to provide more computerised centres to give our candidates the necessary access to write examinations that qualify them for entry to institutions of higher learning.”

Zulum believes that the JAMB office complex will be a game-changer in the state’s education service delivery sector.

Beyond the foundation-laying event, he explained that the completion of the JAMB office complex will significantly reduce logistical constraints for candidates in the region by improving the efficiency of conducting examinations in Borno State.

While lauding Zulum’s educational initiatives, JAMB’s Registrar, Professor Oloyede, stated that the state government’s efforts have been commended by the Federal Ministry of Education (FoME) in Abuja.

He further revealed: “The twin JAMB project has a high-capacity hub that will rival the most advanced CBT centres in the country.

“This building will be a multi-centre CBT facility, comparable to what we have in Kano.”

Oloyede continued, “In overcoming the challenges of the private and public education sectors in a basket, this is the type of leadership this country needed in the delivery of education services to the people,” stating that this is the leadership quality that could drive education services across the country.

The Registrar added that the JAMB project was a testament to Zulum’s commitment to serving humanity and to raising Nigeria’s educational standards globally.

He noted that the ₦1 billion investment is strategic in responding to JAMB’s transition toward a fully digitalized examinations system, including CBT for numerous candidates.

He therefore emphasised the urgent need to expand computerised infrastructure to ensure that students in Borno and the other five states in the Northeast are not left behind their peers.