By Chinyere Nwachukwu
As the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) began nationwide on Tuesday, participants and officials shared different experiences in some Lagos centre visited by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondents.
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).
NAN 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. (NAN)
