Many people often mistake the acronym JAMB for UTME. It is very important to note that the two acronyms are totally different and they don't mean the same thing.
JAMB stands for Joint Admissions Matriculation Board while the full meaning of UTME is Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. JAMB is the official body that conducts examinations for students who are seeking admission into the university.
In simpler terms, UTME is the examination while JAMB is the body that conducts the examination.
People often say "I wrote JAMB this year" "I'm writing the next JAMB". It is not entirely correct because you are simply referring to the examination body. Though it may be proven as correct when speaking in literal terms due to the figure of speech Synecdoche. This figure of speech is used to make a part to represent the whole body of something.
For example, "I read Wole Soyinka". Instead of the speaker saying "I read The Lion and The Jewel" which is a book by Wole Soyinka, he mentioned the author of the book as what he read. This however, justifies the use of JAMB for UTME.
I hope with this explanation above, you now know the difference between JAMB and UTME and the right usage of the words.
What is the role of JAMB?
JAMB is saddled with the responsibility of:
1. Conducting examinations for students seeking admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria.
2. Appointing invigilators, examiners and committees to treat matters pertaining to the examination.
3. Collate results and disseminate them to all candidates.
4. Publish information relating to admissions of tertiary institutions and the examination body.
5. Provide guidelines relating to all tertiary institutions to all students.
6. Offering admission to candidates according to their preferred course or vacancies available in those institutions.