Group flays far-flung posting of teenagers for test

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has responded to criticism by former Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, over the early resumption time for its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Obi had, in a post on his X handle on Sunday, decried reports of candidates, mostly teenagers, being allegedly asked to travel to examination centres as early as 6:30 a.m. despite security concerns.

He described the situation as “reckless”, citing incidents of accidents and missing candidates, and blamed it on what he called Nigeria’s inadequate investment in education.

According to Obi, setting examinations for vulnerable teenagers at such early hours is endangering lives and exposing deeper systemic failures in the country’s education sector.

Reacting yesterday, JAMB clarified that while candidates are expected to arrive by 6:30 a.m. for verification and clearance, the examinations officially begin at 8:00 a.m.

The board explained that the early arrival was to prevent late coming, which could disrupt the exercise. In a post on its official X account, JAMB wrote: “Your Excellency, I (we) must assert that our examination is scheduled to commence at 8:00am, not 6:00 am. While verification and other clearance processes begin at 6:30am, it is imperative that candidates are afforded adequate time to settle in before the exam begins.”

ALSO, the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) has condemned the board for posting candidates to Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres far from their places of residence and mandating them to arrive early without regard for their safety.

In a statement by the Deputy National Coordinator, Isaac Ogunjimi, yesterday, the group demanded rescheduling of candidates’ time of arrival at CBT centres from 6.30 a.m. to 8 a.m. to reduce the risk associated with early morning commute.

It also demanded the establishment of more CBT centres by the government in every locality to reduce congestion. The group said: “This careless scheduling has exposed candidates to tragic incidents, including road accidents, in the course of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). One of such tragic incidents is a fatal road accident on Oyo-Ogbomosho Road last week, which led to the death of several candidates. Another incident was of a girl, who got missing in Epe, Lagos, while travelling a long distance ahead of her exam date.

“Unfortunately, JAMB has responded to the myriad of complaints with a statement that lacks any iota of sensitivity or empathy. The statement, which was permeated with bullish tones, accused candidates of deceiving and duping their parents with the scheduling of the examinations while also challenging anyone who has factual proof of being wrongfully scheduled to present same in exchange of a reward.”

According to ERC, JAMB officials need to understand that they are working with an examination body dealing with young adults.

“To this extent, the public communications of such a body, even on a matter it considers itself to have been unfairly accused, need to be moderate, empathetic and sensitive,” it added.