THE Computer-Based Test Centres Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria has revealed that over 2000 candidates were unable to sit for the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination as a result of biometric and browser failures from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
CPAN President, Maxwell Akwuruoha, who spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a news conference, also revealed that the exercise was characterised with irregularities aided and abated by JAMB officials.
Public Relations Officer of JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, however, described the allegations as false and cheap blackmail.
Akwuruoha had noted that in spite of the introduction of CBT examination and biometric verification, the conduct of the last examination was marred by irregularities, biometric and browser failures.
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He further reviewed that there were instances where JAMB officials deployed on the examination days, were either incompetent or connived to carry out malpractices.
He noted that contrary to claims by the board that the examination was a success, the 2019 examination was a huge failure.
The CPAN President revealed that some candidates, who registered for the examination were denied the opportunity to gain admission this year because they were unable to sit for the examination.
Akwuruoha urged JAMB to ensure that such technical challenges should not be allowed to happen during the conduct of the 2020 examination.
He said: “Biometric enrollment as secured registration medium for UTME and Direct Entry candidates started in 2011, with the introduction of electronic testing actively in 2013 and absolutely in 2015. It has been that the introduction of technology as electronic testing saved huge costs, initially meant for printing question papers, syllabus, brochure, and logistics for delivery of same.
“It has been that only N600 is paid to centres for each candidate that sits for the examination. It has also been that JAMB applies a fire-brigade approach during accreditation, especially with ad hoc workers who are not trained.
“It does not kill anybody to apologise that the biometric system actually failed. We had candidates that were prevented from writing the exam because of biometric failures from JAMB.
“Some children were prevented from writing the examination due to biometric failure from JAMB. The system failed because some of the technical people sent to some centres by JAMB were incompetent. It is only noble that the Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede apologises to these children that were prevented from writing the examination.
“What we are saying is that the biometric solutions deployed by JAMB during the examination failed. NIITDA and ICT experts can come into this. The biometric solutions failed and apology should be rendered that these children were prevented from writing the examination.”
He called on JAMB to issue to its members a Memorandum of Understanding and adequate time for visitation and accreditation.
The CPAN president also said that the association was ready to partner with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to enrol candidates for the 2020 UTME.
“Centres are ready to partner with NIMC to encourage the enrolment of candidates for the 2020 UTME. There was no way the examination malpractices could take place without the connivance of JAMB supervisors,” he said.
JAMB Head of Information, Fabian Benjamin, however, dismissed the allegations saying there “cheap blackmail.”
Benjamin said: “It is quite unfortunate that a group of people, who claim to be our partners and who daily clamour for an increase in what we pay them, will resort to blackmail.
“One, our biometric verification did not fail. We conducted biometric verification for about two million candidates. Let me assume, without conceding, that 2000 candidates could not be verified, what is the percentage of 2000 in two million?
“Every candidate that registered properly was verified. So for any candidate who was not verified, it is not as a result of the biometric failure, some of them registered in centres that were not approved and some of them did multiple registrations and they were therefore blocked.
“And if you talk about examination malpractice, we have been delisting centres found in such and none of them had ever come with allegations against our workers. Their talk now is because we have refused to yield to their demands.”