The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Tuesday commended Kaduna State University’s Computer-Based Centre (CBT) for a well-coordinated and smooth conduct of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Mr Abdulsalam El-Suleiman, JAMB Technical Officer at the centre, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
According to him, the KASU CBT centre was well organised with more than enough facilities that ensured smooth conduct of the exercise.
El-Suleiman told NAN that the centre officials and security personnel also demonstrated professionalism in their support to ensure that the candidates conducted themselves well.
He, however, disclosed that about 5 per cent of the candidates, with little knowledge of computers, struggled to operate the system, adding that they had to be helped to be able to write the examination.
El-Suleiman advised parents to ensure that their children understood basic computer operations so as not to be left behind in the computer-driven education system.
“A few of the candidates could not log in, while others could not find the delete key to change the wrong number they inputted.
“Also, parents should guide the children to read the instructions in the JAMB examination slip and follow the instructions as indicated.
“This is because most of the candidates come with their phones and other prohibited items to the centre, which becomes a distraction to them,” he said.
Some candidates, who acknowledged JAMB’s claim, also commended the university’s CBT centre for a hitch-free exercise and urged the centre to sustain the standard.
One of them, Muhammad Tukur, a first-timer who expressed confidence of a good result, said the examination was smooth, adding that the centre was well coordinated.
Another candidate, Mss Evelyn Joseph, who wrote the examination for the second time, also expressed satisfaction with its conduct.
“The centre is well-coordinated, with no issue at all. The thumb printing had no issue and the computer systems worked as scheduled with fast internet. This is quite commendable,” she said.
Similarly, Jethro Kefas, who wants to be a computer scientist, equally lauded the exercise, saying that he finished ahead of time because the CBT centre was well organised.
“The security personnel were also very helpful and friendly. They helped us to organise ourselves during the examination,” he said.
The Centre Administrator, KASU, Mr Abdullahi Yusuf, ascribed the successes of the centre to early preparation.
“We are asking JAMB to bring more candidates to the KASU centre, having demonstrated the capacity to deliver quality information, and communication technology services.
“We are already working towards opening more centres to provide hitch-free services,” he said.
The story was, however, different for Chubiyo Abel, who said that the computer system logged him out 40 minutes before the completion time.
Abel, who wrote the examination at Queen Amina College, Kaduna, appealed to JAMB to put measures to forestall a recurrence, and find ways to compensate candidates that faced the same challenge.
Similarly, Mss Alice Danjuma, who experienced a similar situation at KADWELL International School, Barnawa, told NAN that the system developed a fault 15 minutes before the end of the examination.
JAMB, in its Weekly Bulletin, said about 1.4 million candidates had so far sat for its 2022 exercise across the country, and their results would soon be released. (NAN)
