Waching daily Mar 8 2018

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said it recorded a decrease in the number of registered candidates for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) in 2018.

The Registrar of the Board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to him, a total number of 1, 662, 762 candidates registered for the 2018 UTME, within a period of two months, as against a total of 1,718,425 candidates who registered within one month in 2017.

He explained that the decrease of 3. 2 per cent was largely, as a result of measures put in place by the board to forestall multiple registrations and other unwholesome registration practices by candidates.

Oloyede also noted that a total of 367 visually impaired candidates registered for the 2018 examination as against the 201 candidates of 2017.

He said that the board will continue to provide all necessary support and logistics to the physically challenged candidates in order to encourage them to attain their pursuit for knowledge.

According to the registrar, the board recorded a pleasantly high number of candidates for the 2018 UTME examinations from foreign countries.

He, however, said that the board was yet to get the actual statistics from the various embassies, adding that those who applied for the examinations would commence after the local centres have concluded.

On admissions, the registrar said that the board has since concluded the 2017 admissions into tertiary institutions.

He said that the admission was conducted using the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), automated the admission platform and provided the candidates with the opportunity to track their admissions.

According to him, this system ensure strict adherence to admission guidelines thereby creating equity and fairness in admission and was responsible for timely completion of the admission.

"The 2017 admissions statistics shows that 1,840,225 candidates applied for the 2017 UTME and Direct Entry (DE).

"A total of 1,187,997 candidates out of the above met the minimum cut-off points for the 2017 admission of which 842,505 possess the minimum O'level requirement and cut-off points.

He reiterated that the board was ready to move on with its scheduled academic calendar as that was the right thing to do, as such, candidates who were unable to complete their 2017 admission process should not hold JAMB responsible.

The registrar also described as fraudulent, those who engaged in multiple registrations.

He said that the board have put measures in place through its enhanced registration process and would not relent in its efforts to tackle and stop any act that may aid examination malpractice.

He, however, said "the official position today is that candidates do not need to pick the two forms; if you apply for UTME and you have enhanced qualifications, you just upgrade to the next level at no cost.

Oloyede further said that the board has concluded all arrangements for it activities for the 2019 exercise and a calendar has since been released on its website.

This, he explained, was because the board targets to work towards assisting other concerned stakeholders to have a reliable academic calendar for tertiary institutions.

"The academic session in tertiary institutions statutorily begins in August and we will ensure that we conclude all admission exercise by that time.

"If any institution does not resume early, it will not be due to delay in the admission process," he said.

Speaking on the boards level of preparedness for the scheduled 2018 UTME examinations, Oloyede said that about 6, 500 permanent and ad hoc staff were deployed to the 605 centres across the country.

He noted that each centre would be manned by 10 officials, which would include external examiners, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and security officers.

He appreciated the support from various stakeholders in the education sector as well as the Federal Government.

The registrar also commended the Media for their consistent efforts in sensitising the public about the board's efforts to change the narratives of tertiary education in the country.

For more infomation >> Why there is a decrease in 2018 registered candidates - JAMB - Duration: 5:53.

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Is the family home a good investment? - Duration: 3:22.

Is owning your home a good investment strategy? That's what we're going to talk

about today and I've got Martina to join me for this one.

So, owning your own home is such an essential part of having a happy family life

and we love seeing our clients enjoying their home

but from an investment point of view would you agree

Martina that it's a great investment?

Yes Neil, I would agree and for a number of reasons

If you look at home prices and the increase in value, over the

last 20 years house prices have averaged an increase of 9.5% per annum.

That's huge and that means that in reality house prices have doubled in

value every 7 to 8 years. The good thing about that is also that if

you bought a house 20 years ago and you took out a mortgage and your house is

now worth three times as much that mortgage is actually relatively small now.

The other thing is, and I think people forget about that, but the house

is one of the few assets that are exempt from any capital gains tax and that's fantastic!

That's right because it means that as

your house has increased in value over time, when you eventually sell that

property you don't pay any tax on that. So from a tax perspective it saves you a

lot of money and you'd struggle to find a better alternative.

Plus you get to live in it at the same time!

Now I can hear you asking: "is the housing trend going to

continue or is it a bubble about the burst?"

So Martina, I hope you brought your crystal ball...... can you answer that one for us?

I don't know whether it's a bubble and whether it will burst, but let's look

at a few critical drivers of the housing markets that are still intact.

Firstly, our economy has grown now for 25 years, so

economic growth is always good for the housing market. The other thing is that

we have experienced over the last decade or so and that will not go away

very strong immigration from other countries and that will keep putting pressure on

the housing market as well especially in the big cities. So I think it's set, the

strong housing market is set to continue and it could well be that for one or two

years it could be negative, especially when there will be some interest rate

rises along the way, but if we look at it as a long-term investment I think

everything is still intact.

Great answer Martina.

So, if you are looking to either

buy a new home or perhaps renovate your existing home and you would like some

advice around managing the debt associated with that, please do get in

touch because we'd love to talk you

through your options.

In the next few weeks we'll be focusing more

on debt management strategies around owning your

own home so please tune in for those.

See you then. Bye from us.

Have a great week and we'll see you in the next one

For more infomation >> Is the family home a good investment? - Duration: 3:22.

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This Is Us Season 2 Finale Teases Jack's Dramatic Return: Is Another Twist Coming? - Duration: 2:02.

This Is Us Season 2 Finale Teases Jack's Dramatic Return: Is Another Twist Coming?

Its hard to believe it, but This Is Us season two finale is already upon us, and its shaping up to be an emotional affair as its time for Kate (Chrissy Metz) and Tobys (Chris Sullivan) wedding.

And in the first promo for the NBC hit dramas final episode of the season, we get to see our first look at their big day.and Jack Pearson as an old man?! Yes, an older version of Milo Ventimiglias dearly departed patriarch pops up, with the voice-over teasing a special guest. 

Where did the time go, Bec, Jack says to Rebecca (Mandy Moore) at the end of the promo above, pushing a piece of hair out of his wifes face, breaking our hearts into a million tiny pieces. .

Of course, this is likely a dream sequence, but it still hits us right in the feels, you know?

And who knows, maybe another twist is upon us! The guy that gets to marry you, Katey girl, he is one lucky guy, Jack tells a young Kate in a flashback during the short teaser, causing our eyes to rain, knowing he will never get the chance to walk her down the aisle.

(Though we did get chills seeing her flanked by both of her brothers has she made her way to the altar.)  While we know older Jack will make some kind of appearance during the hour, it remains to be seen if well see old man Randall (Sterling K.

Brown) again, after he first appeared in the post-Super Bowl episode, which introduced a new timeline. .

We show a new timeline, in the future, which is extremely exciting for a show that plays in time and has till-now played in the past/present, creator Dan Fogelman told Deadline after the episode.

But there is other stuff coming, too…there is a plan for the show, there always has been, we arent just shooting from the hip.

And he said fans can expect to see more of the future, adding, We didnt do it as a one-off.its safe to say the future can play a big part in seasons to come. .