JAMB, tackle these registration challenges

FIRST, let me say that the efforts  made  by  the  Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to  ensure the  commencement of the 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration   are highly  commendable. However, prospective  candidates  are  facing some obstacles.

The UTME  registrations forms  were  released  on March 20, but only a    few  banks  were  allowed to give out  the  “vending PIN” to  the prospective candidates.   Although this  is the normal  procedure,  students however have to wait for more  than  three  or four days  before  they  are given the  PIN  after  payment  has been made. This  is very  perplexing.

On many occasions, the banking  officers  informed prospective candidates  that  they  were  unable  to connect to the JAMB network.

In  addition,  candidates  spend  up  to  four  or six  hours  in the  bank,  jostling  to pay for the UTME form and obtain the vending PIN. Till  this  moment,  a large number of candidates  are  still  in the front of  a particular bank in Ilorin, Kwara State, struggling to  register  for  the 2017  UTME. For  how  long  do  we  continue like  this?

This  development  in the UTME registration  this  year  is alarming.  I am aware that many prospective candidates travelled to Ilorin  from  other towns to do the registration.  A person  who had a conversation with me   said  he had  travelled  from  Osi  in  Ekiti  Local  Government Area of Kwara State  to Ilorin in order to do the registration.

It is now a must  for  prospective candidates in neighbouring  towns like Eyenkorin,  Ogbodonroko and other  places to come to the state  capital for the UTME registration. Unfortunately,  they spend  a lot of money on transport fare.

On  April 1,  I was at    one  of  the  accredited  UTMEcentres at  Tanke,  Ilorin.  Over 400 prospective candidates were  waiting for  registration. I arrived  at  the  venue at  10:23 a.m and  left  the  place around  3:45 p.m.

We  struggled    before  we  could  be  given the  PIN  and  sat  for five hours  to ensure  a successful registration.

Of course, we must  endure. We all  know that  the  facilities  in the nation’s education  sector  are not  commensurate with  the  number  of students.

Still,  we  must  not  fold  our  arms and keep watching. This  is  the  time to draw  the  attention  of  the concerned  authorities  to the problems facing prospective candidates so that lasting  solutions can be found to them.  If the  truth  must  be  told,  the  challenges  currently  confronting the  prospective UTME candidates  are enormous.

Therefore,  the  examining body must  wake  up  to its responsibilities and put an  end to these problems.

Adeyemi Daniel,

[email protected]