Our exam went well but time alloted not enough, say Lagos UTME candidates

As the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) being conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) commenced nationwide on Saturday, some candidates in Lagos State rated the conduct of the exam very high.

They said the exercise went well as far as they were concerned except that the time given to them to answer the multiple-choice questions for the four subjects as applicable to each of them were not enough.

Meanwhile a few candidates who arrived their centres late like 30 minutes after the commencement of their schedule batches were turned back to go home as the exam officials refused to allow them into the exam hall.

Tribune Online monitored the exam in some CBT centres within the Lagos metropolis including the one at the WAEC International office at Agidingbi Road, Ikeja and another in Abule-Egba, observed that the exam started as scheduled with the first batch commencing around 7.30am while the second batch commenced around 10.30am and the last batch for the day around 1.20 pm.

It was observed that parents of candidates who were from different areas of Lagos and from Sango-Ota in Ogun State were seen sitting under the trees and beside the walls to shield themselves from the sun.

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Some of them said they were not comfortable to leave their children to come alone for the exam and that they had to leave homes early enough so as to beat the anticipated traffic that characterises vehicular movement in Lagos. 

However, some candidates who spoke to Tribune Online said they were satisfied with the conduct of the exam particularly as regards the screening, the internet and the computer they used for the exam.

They said the internet and the computer worked without any hitch and that they did not also experience power failure while both the screening and their exam lasted and so there was no disruption whatsover according to them throughout the period they spent for the multiple-choice online exam.

The prospective undergraduates were tested in four subjects based on their choice courses including English language and Mathematics. 

They said the exam officials did not allow them to enter the hall with any of the forbidden items including a wristwatch and air ring and also did not allow them to talk to one another.

The exam officials who spoke in anonymity as they said they were not authorised to speak to newsmen said JAMB does not expect any of the candidates to go outside the rules of the exam which they said they had been informed since the day they applied for the exam.

They added that in addition to that information is that the entire conducts of both the exam officials and that of the candidates were being recorded and monitored centrally by the board.

“So, whoever that cheated in the exam or aided cheating in whatever form would be detected and appropriately penalised for such action and that is why no one will want to flout the rules,” one of the exam officials said.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE