The 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) commenced nationwide today amid technical issues reported by candidates and parents.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports UTME is organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Candidates, parents and JAMB officials shared divergent experiences and opinions on the commencement of the examination.
Some 1.5 million candidates are expected to participate in the exercise nationwide, using a total of 740 centres for the all Computer Based Test (CBT).
Correspondents who visited some centres across Lagos report that accreditation of candidates for the first batch (8 a.m.) commenced in centres visited at 6:30 a.m, with different experiences recorded during the process.
At the WAEC Test and Training Centre (WTTC) in Ogba, a JAMB Supervisor, Mr Umar Hassan, told NAN that the process had been seamless, adding that the entire systems/ backups and personnel for the process had been performing well.
“I must say that so far for this day-one, everything has been going as expected. We will be having three sessions today.
“For this first session, we expected 250 candidates to participate in the examination but only 229 turned up, while 21 were absent. They started at 8: a.m. and ended at 10 a.m.
“We started our accreditation by 6:30 a.m. and it was seamless. No impersonation nor any infraction recorded. The systems in place for the examination are in excellent state.
“The services of the Centre administrator and all other staff on ground for the conduct of this examination have made the entire process very seamless. They have done a great job.
“The second session commenced at 11 a.m. with about 244 candidates verified so far, out of the expected 250 too. My expectation is that the entire process is going to be well, considering what I have found on ground in this particular centre.
“With my experience in some other centres I have been privileged to work with in the course of this examination in the previous years, the case of this centre is an exception.
“It is a great centre and if you ask my opinion, I will say it should be a model of other centres so that candidates, JAMB and all other stakeholders would also enjoy a worthwhile experience in examination conduct,” he said.
At the Wisdom House Centre on Yaya Abatan, sling College road Ogba, it was not an entire pass mark as there were a few hitches occasioned by the system.
An official at the centre who pleaded anonymity said that some systems failed to function just before the commencement of the examination.
He however noted that the issues were taken care of almost immediately by the resident monitors.
According to him, aside the initial technical hitch, the exercise so far, had been seamless, noting that the accreditation of candidates commenced at exactly 6:30 a.m.
At the Florin High School, off Idimu Road, Ejigbo, students scheduled for the second session at 9.00a.m. did not start until 11a.m. due to some network issues.
One of the students, who sought anonymity, said they were kept waiting in a hall until the issues were resolved and then they went in to write their examination.
Parents and other students for later sessions were seen seated under canopies outside as the students went in for their examinations.
Mr Adam Adedimeji, a Roving Group Member of JAMB in Lagos, emphasised the need for both parents and candidates to ensure that they identify their respective centres days ahead of the examination,
According to him, this is to avert situations whereby candidates go to the wrong centres on the day of the examination or arrive late for difficulty in identify it.
He also noted that there was the need for JAMB to consider using only centres with enough space to host the examination.
“Like in this Wisdom House, it looks crammed up. Because of lack of enough space, candidates are sitting directly under the sun as they await their turn for the examination.
“There needs to be enough space to mount as many canopies as possible to accommodate all the candidates, as they wait for their time to get into the examination hall.
“They are going in for an examination and therefore, need to be psychologically ready or be in a good frame of mind,” he said.
At the WAEC International Centre Agidingbi in Ikeja, some candidates who participated in the examination lauded the exercise, describing it as a success.
According to Mary Ibe, one of the candidates, the systems were in excellent form, which facilitated the conduct of the examination.
Joke Fawehinmi, another candidate, lauded organisers of the annual examination for the strides and efforts made in ensuring that the process was hitch-free.
UTME: Candidates, parents decry system malfunction, technical glitches
More candidates and their parents decried the system malfunction and technical glitches that characterised the conduct of the 2023 UTME, which started on Tuesday.
They spoke with NAN in Ibadan, calling on JAMB to find solutions to the problems faced by some candidates who were unable to write the examination due to the glitches.
A parent, Mrs Jumoke Ajayi, said: “The systems were not working, the first batch that went in for the examination at 6.30 a.m were unable to access the examination as most of them went home crying and wailing.
“Some candidates scheduled for 6.30 a.m were still inside while those scheduled for other sessions as at 9.00 a.m and 12 noon were waiting.
“The candidates experienced the same problem during the mock examination. One would have thought that things should have been taken care of at this same centre, PEFTI CBT Centre, Sango.”
Another parent, who simply identified himself as Mr Ladipo, said 80 per cent of the candidates scheduled for the early morning session were unable to write the examination.
Ladipo wondered what their fate would be as many of them were seen crying uncontrollable at the CBT centre.
One of the candidates, Idris Raji, said the computer systems including laptops were not working properly at his centre.
Raji said that many candidates due to the technical glitches were unable to write the examination.
“I was one of the few lucky candidates who were able to access the examination, even at that, the system keeps prompting us to reconnect.
“This is a limiting factor as time was already going and this issue would not be considered by JAMB as it is not aware of what we were faced with here.
“We are really suffering as candidates,” he said.
Responding to the complaints, Mr Ayobami Adeoyo, PEFTI CBT official, said the situation had been brought under control.
“We had issues at the first session, but we are able to overcome them by God’s grace and those affected would be rescheduled.
“We have put down their names and this will not affect other sessions,” Adeoyo said.
At Yinbol College, Orogun in Ibadan, parents also complained about conduct of the examination which they described as not satisfactory.
The official, who spoke to NAN under anonymity, said aside the generating set, which broke down due to a belt that snapped, the exercise has been going on smoothly.
“We have already accredited the second batch who are seated for the commencement of the examination, while we are also accrediting candidates for the third batch.
“We have 250 candidates sitting for the exam per batch and we are having three sessions a day and that is how it will be for the four days the examination will be held,” the official said.
Earlier, the JAMB Zonal Director, Ibadan, Mrs Olajumoke Adeleke said, “We have peaceful exercise, everything is calm, we thank God.”
Adeleke said there were 39 centres in Oyo State and technical issues had been sufficiently taken care of.
The University of Ibadan Distance Learning Centre was part of the CBT centres delisted in the state.
Candidates, officials in Abuja share experiences
Meanwhile, in Abuja, a visit by a correspondent to some of the CBT centres revealed that the examination was free from technical hitches.
At Global Distance Learning Institute, opposite the Ministry of Finance, Central Business Area, Abuja, it was observed that as of 6:50 a.m, candidates were already waiting for the examination to start.
It was also observed that the first session of the examinations that was to commence at exactly 8:00a.m, did not start until few minutes before 9: 00a.m.
However, when asked why the candidates were still waiting, an invigilator, who simply gave his name as Rilwanu, revealed that the time was moved from 8:00 a.m to 8:30 a.m as they were awaiting orders from JAMB headquarters.
Meanwhile, one of the High Opinion Leaders for the examination, Mr Abdulrahman Balogun, said there were no technical hitches but the little delay was from JAMB headquarters.
”I have been to some centres this morning from Jikwoyi, Karu to AYA and now at the Global Distance Learning Institute.
”At this centre, they are to have three sessions, the first session is to start at 7:00a.m and students were expected to arrive at 6:30am. The second session is to start at 9:00a.m, while the third session starts at 11:00 a.m.
”We had some little delay at this centre, the examination that ought to have started at 7:00 a.m did not start and when asked I was told it was not due to any technical hitch but they were waiting for signal from JAMB headquarters.
”As you can see, the examination is going on unhindered, 200 candidates are expected to sit for the first session but out of this, 183 were accredited, 16 absent and one unverified,” he said.
Balogun, who said that candidates in the second batch had been screened to ascertain their centre, commended the process saying that close to 99 per cent success in terms of orderliness, smoothness and arrangement was recorded.
Speaking on the high turnout of parents loitering the examination centre, he advised parents to avoid obstructing the process of the examinations.
”Parents will continue to be parents, some will say they will come along with their children because of security reasons.
”Some say they are still children and the truth is these are children. You cannot blame them but they should not interfere with the process or conduct of JAMB examination.
”It is their fundamental right to stay outside the gate but they should not come in and obstruct the exams,” he said.
A correspondent also observed the distribution of Bibles by Gideon International, to candidates at the CBT centre, however, Balogun condemned this act as it was capable of distracting the candidates.
He, therefore, called for intervention, so that this would not cause friction as leaders continued to preach religious tolerance.
He commended the board’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, for the introduction of technology in the conduct of its examinations, adding that this had helped to curb malpractices in the system.
Some of the candidates, who spoke with NAN after their examinations, commended the process and prayed for the sustainability in future examinations.
Mr Hassan Usman, who attempted the examination for the third time, praised the board for the hitch free experience.
”I thank God for the examination, though at first, the computer did not show us the questions to answer, we complained and immediately this was corrected.
”Since then we did not experience any hitch. This is my best examination because from the last two examinations I wrote, there were usually technical fault, which prevented me from gaining admission into tertiary institution.
”But with this I am happy, there is an improvement in the conduct of the examination from registration to mock and the main UTME. I am hopeful to get admitted into my school of choice this year,” he said.
In the same vein, at the Futuregate CBT Centre 2, in Ado, Nasarawa State, Mr Timothy Abuga, a Supervisor, said that there were no hitches with conduct of the examination.
According to him, the Futuregate CBT Centre 2 is a full centre, with a reasonable number of candidates on ground and so far, we don’t have any issue with the conduct.
”We are expecting more than 250 candidates for the exam. The network is encouraging and the centre too is conducive for candidates.
Also, Mr Samson Ichimso, a candidate, who had written the examination in 2022, expressed satisfaction with the 2023 conduct, saying that this year’s examination is more preferable.
”Last year, my score was very poor, but I believe this year’s own will be better because there is no network issue and the examination worked smoothly,” he said.
The story from candidates at the Futuregate CBT Centre 1 and the Zinaria CBT Centre in Mararaba, were not different from that of the Futuregate CBT Centre 2.
Recall that no fewer than 1.6 million candidates would be writing the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) in about 600 approved CBT centres across the country.
