On Thursday, the rescheduled 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) mock once again witnessed technological hitches as the exams couldn’t hold in many centers.
All efforts by Candidates in Lagos to also write the exams proved futile due to technical hitches that prevented the systems to come alive with exam questions.
The mock exam is an optional examination introduced by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to provide an opportunity for hands-on experience and to ascertain the board’s readiness and its partners for the main test, holding between April 29 and May 12.
Many parents and guardians were left disappointed after leading their wards and children to the centers but couldn’t write the exams all day.
One of the parents who didnt want his name in print accused JAMB of being insensitive to the plight of the applicants.
“Asking us to come back by 2:00p.m. was one of the most insensitive statements to come from a body like JAMB. I came from Ikorodu, slept in a hotel near the centre so as to get to the venue on time. Is JAMB asking us to go back to the hotel where we had already checked out and come back here by 2:00p.m. for an examination they are not sure would hold?” a parent lamented.
For instance, at the West African Examination Council (WAEC) international office centre at Ogba, Ikeja, candidates and parents were seen milling around the gate, looking tired and dejected. Some of them said they arrived the centre as early as 6:00a.m.
“Unfortunately, we have not been able to write the exams. Since morning, they kept telling us that there was no signal, and we have been waiting since then, a candidate, who identified himself as Divine, lamented.
The situation was same at JKK centre on Ikorodu Road, as candidates waited endlessly to write the test, while officials struggled to get signal.
At Sure Academy, Ikeja, the examination could not hold as of the time of filing this report due to same technology glitch.
A parent, Janet Oladejo, who escorted her ward to the venue at Iyana Ipaja, said they have to lodge overnight at a hotel close by to arrive early for the examination.
“Unfortunately, as at 4:00p.m., my daughter is yet to sit for the exam. Already, she is tired, hungry and dejected. JAMB officials and management of the centre kept telling us to wait, while they fix the computers. Tell me, how can candidates write examination and pass in this kind of situation?”