2019 UTME will be hitch-free in Lagos centres — JAMB Coordinator

Mr Babatunde Bamisaye, the Lagos Zonal coordinator, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), says he is optimistic of hitch-free 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in all the 75 centres in the state.

Bamisaye made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday, in the course of monitoring the conduct of the examination on day one.

More than 1.8 million candidates are writing the 2019 UTME, otherwise known as Computer Based Test (CBT) by JAMB.

“I want to say that so far, the conduct has been hitch-free in most of the centres I have been to.

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“Before this time, I did a thorough combing of the centres in an attempt to ensure that only the best are accredited for this examination.

“I have visited the BrainPoint College, a CBT centre in Yaba, WAEC International Agidinbgi in Ikeja, Funlearn Mind Builders CBT, at Opebi in Ikeja and I am still on it.

“I want to say that there has not been any cause for complaints.

“I am therefore optimistic that everything will be successful at the end of the day considering the fact that all logistics have been put in place by the board,” Bamisaye said.

Meanwhile, a NAN correspondent, who monitored the conduct of the examination, reports that candidates scheduled for the first session of the examination at 7 a.m. and who did not want to be late for the test, defied the early morning rain to ensure that they were at the exam venue as early as 6 a.m.

At the WAEC International Office, the candidates filed out in a single queue to get themselves duly accredited using the Biometric Verification Machine (BVM).

The female candidates were also compelled to take off their earrings while a general screening for banned items was conducted.

After the successful completion of the screening, the examination began at exactly 8 a.m.

On rounding off with the examination, the candidates were also compelled to thumbprint out at the same biometric point before leaving the examination venue.

Some of the candidates, who spoke with NAN, expressed satisfaction with the state of the computers and the backup equipment provided at the centre.

One of the candidates, Chidinma Ochor, said that the examination was not as difficult as he had expected.

“I think the examination was not as difficult as some people have made me believe.

“At first, I was nervous but when I started the examination, I discovered it was not as difficult as I thought it will be. I am hopeful,” she told NAN.

Mojisola Oduwole, another candidate, said that this year’s examination was her third attempt.

She said that this year’s examination could be the last for her as she was sure she would put up a better performance.

She also commended the centre owners for putting in place all the necessary logistics to enhance the smooth conduct of the test.

A JAMB official, in-charge of the Biometric Verification exercise, Mr Akintayo Osuma said the BVM would remain one of the best things to have ever happened to the CBT UTME.

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According to him, the verification exercise is biologically oriented and therefore reduced totally, the issue of impersonation.

“All the candidates for this examination must be verified using this process.

“No one will be allowed in if this machine does not confirm that you are the true person captured for this examination at the point of registration.

“The machine makes no mistakes of the true identity of the individual, even if you are identical twins.

“So I can say so far, we have achieved a hundred per cent success of the purpose of the verification exercise,” he said.

A total of 230 candidates are expected to sit for the examination per session.