As the tests resumed for a second day on Saturday, candidates taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) across the country reported a few technical difficulties.
Candidates seeking admission to Nigerian postsecondary institutions take the UTME, administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB).
This year, the exam was scheduled to begin on Friday, April 19, and run through Monday, April 29, with 1.9 million applicants registered.
Students in CBT centers in Oyo, Enugu, Lagos, and the Federal Capital Territory who talked with PREMIUM TIMES expressed differing opinions about how the exams were administered.
Abuja, FCT
Benjamin Samson, a resident of Gwagwalada, reported that he showed up at the exam location at 11 a.m. for the noon session.
The candidates were led into the hall a few minutes after noon, he claimed in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES as he was leaving the venue at around 2:50 p.m.
Since the exam started on Monday, there have been no issues in the hall, according to the JAMB-appointed site supervisor.
Furthermore, a few of the computer screens don’t match JAMB requirements. He responded, “They’re not wide enough,” and added that he didn’t want to see his name printed.
He claimed that although some of the laptops in the hallway are just 14 inches wide, JAMB specifies that the CBT centers’ screens must be 17 inches wide.
He said, “There were no instances of a generator failing or a power outage.”
He stated that even if there were no issues for applicants at the center, those whose exams were postponed from other locations would still take their tests there.
Future Gate Model School
Even with their best efforts, candidates who arrived late for the tests were denied access by the officials.
Sandra Lawrence was among the applicants who showed up after the test had begun.
An emotional The facilitators told Ms. Lawrence there was nothing more they could do.
“Please provide a hand. I recently left the hospital. Since I am the only child and my mother is ill, she sent for me. Please, I beg you, help me.
One facilitator grimaced and stated, “If it had been last year, we could have done something, but this year, you mess up, we mess you up.”
A facilitator, who begged to remain anonymous, mentioned that in certain instances, candidates’ exams had to be rescheduled because the officials were unable to authenticate their fingerprints.
According to him, the majority of the difficulties arise with the initial group of pupils.
“As you can see, the third batch is currently undergoing accreditation downstairs, and the second batch is writing. Therefore, as soon as this batch finishes writing, the following batch will check it.
“The entire procedure is going smoothly. We haven’t had any network issues thus far, and this is the second batch for today.”
Some of the applicants interviewed at the venue also stated that the examination was pleasant and free of technical difficulties.
Edeoga Chidera added, “I didn’t face any difficulties. The only issue raised regarding the Jamb procedures was that I had difficulties answering several of my mathematical questions. Aside from that, there were no issues.
Another candidate, Raphel Ode, said the process was better than the last time he sat.
Dantata Universal Services
She stated that the fingerprint machine could not catch the three candidates and that their information had been submitted to JAMB headquarters.
She stated that the centre held two sessions on Friday and three sessions on Saturday.
“Each session contains 200 pupils. So for five sessions now, that’s over 900 (candidates who took the tests at the centre),” she explained.
