The UTME crisis

DURING the recently-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), authorities of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) apprehended a self-described professor, one Jide Jisus, at an institution in the Jabi area of Abuja over alleged involvement in examination malpractice. According to the board’s spokesman, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the suspect claimed that he was one of the professors selected by the board to oversee the conduct of the 2019 UTME. His chair, he revealed, was awarded by Christian University, Isolo, Lagos. That was not all: he had two additional professorial awards from “Becket” University, England and Freedom University. The suspect also claimed to be an employee of Anchor Polytechnic, Kubwa, Abuja, an institution JAMB said did not exist. It was, however, discovered that the suspect had a daughter who was taking the UTME in the  centre where he was caught.

But the twists and turns of this year’s UTME involved more than controversial professorships. The board also arrested  someone it described as a notorious cheat who had registered for the UTME 64 times with the intention to write the examination for 64 candidates. It added that, overall, no fewer than 100 examination cheats were arrested by security operatives across the country, lamenting that multiple registrations usually inflated annual registration for the UTME by up to 30 per cent. The practice, it said, was prevalent in virtually all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The board also said that it had cancelled the results of two Computer Based Test (CBT) centres, namely Heritage and Infinity CBT Centre and Okwyzil Computer Institute Comprehensive School Ugwunabo, Aba, Abia State, over widespread irregularities.  However, in order not to unduly punish honest and hardworking candidates who found themselves attached to these two centres, the board said, it relocated all the candidates who had taken or were scheduled to take their examination in the two centres to other centres where they subsequently took their examinations. JAMB apologised to innocent candidates involved in the relocation for the inconveniences they suffered, reaffirming its commitment to providing equal opportunity to all candidates to articulate their hopes and aspirations.

Going by the complaints by candidates and their parents across the country, the 2019 UTME exercise indeed left much to be desired. In many centres, candidates who were scheduled to write the examination at 9:00 a.m. got to the centres only to find candidates on the first batch (7:00 a.m.) in tears, lamenting that they had been unable to write the examination because the available computer systems had collapsed. For example, at Flourish Computer Centre in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the management reportedly promised to call in experts to fix the problem so that candidates on the second batch could write the examination. But when the candidates were later called in, they stayed for over three hours and came out crying, saying that the system opened for only five minutes and then went off. According to a distraught parent, the centre operators “forced the candidates to thumbprint in and out, meaning that they had written the exams. That is fraudulent.” And at God is Able CBT Centre, Wofun-Olodo, Ibadan, Oyo State, some candidates reportedly finished their examination by 11.30 p.m! With stories such as this, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that JAMB still has a long way to go in order to win the confidence of candidates, their parents and the nation at large. Instructively, the results of the examination are being delayed because of the lapses.

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To say the least, leaving candidates who were duly registered for the UTME in the lurch is inexcusable, particularly when the fact is considered that the affected candidates have to wait for next year’s examination before actualising their higher education dream. We urge JAMB to investigate the cases of failed computers thoroughly with a view to avoiding a recurrence next year. Truth be told, stories of malfunctioning computers have become an annual routine and do not exactly cover the board and its management in glory. It is our firm belief that even with the poor power situation in the country, the problem can be permanently solved. The candidates did not pay for excuses. Before the examinations, the board should always ensure that the alternative electricity arrangements made in the CBT centres are functional. As experience has shown, leaving the CBT centres to their own devices risks dire consequences for candidates, their parents and the nation. For the most part, UTME candidates are young, impressionable minds and if they begin to lose faith in the Nigerian system right from the venues of the UTME, the consequences may be too dire for the country.

The systemic and operational hiccups notwithstanding, it is still worthy of note that the board, particularly under its present chief executive, has demonstrated honesty in handling funds and sufficient commitment to eradicating examination malpractices. In this regard, we commend the board for its vigilance during this year’s examination and urge it to liaise appropriately with the security agencies and ensure that all those apprehended during the examination have their day in court. Needless to say, the board should furnish concrete proof and not assume that culprits will go to jail simply because it believes they should. It is indeed saddening that some parents were found trying to compromise the examination process. Pray, what kind of values are such parents passing to their children? Without doubt, such misguided parents need to be punished for their actions. So should the candidates and mercenaries arrested during the examination exercise.