UTME: Lagos Candidates, Officials Recount Experiences During Exercise

Candidates and officials of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Lagos State have shared their experiences during the exercise which commenced today, Tuesday, April 25, 2023.

Correspondents of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who visited some centres in Lagos reported that the accreditation of candidates for the first batch which was fixed for 8 a.m. began at 6:30 a.m. in the visited centres.

Umar Hassan, a JAMB supervisor at the WAEC Test and Training Centre (WTTC) in Ogba, said the examination process had been smooth, noting that the entire systems, backups and personnel for the process had been working well.

“I must say that so far for this day one, everything has been going as expected. We will be having three sessions today.

“For this first session, we expected 250 candidates to participate in the examination but only 229 turned up, while 21 were absent. They started at 8: a.m. and ended at 10 a.m.

“We started our accreditation by 6:30 a.m. and it was seamless. No impersonation nor any infraction recorded.

"The systems in place for the examination are in excellent state.

“The services of the Centre administrator and all other staff on ground for the conduct of this examination have made the entire process very seamless. They have done a great job.

“The second session commenced at 11 a.m. with about 244 candidates verified so far, out of the expected 250 too. My expectation is that the entire process is going to be well, considering what I have found on ground in this particular centre.

“With my experience in some other centres I have been privileged to work with in the course of this examination in the previous years, the case of this centre is an exception.

“It is a great centre and if you ask my opinion, I will say it should be a model of other centres so that candidates, JAMB and all other stakeholders would also enjoy a worthwhile experience in examination conduct,” he said.

However, it was a slightly different story at the Wisdom House Centre on Yaya Abatan, sling College Road Ogba, where some hitches were recorded.

An official at the centre who spoke under the condition of anonymity noted that some systems failed to function just before the examination commenced.

He, however, mentioned that the hitches were addressed almost immediately.

According to the official, apart from the initial technical glitches, the exercise had been seamless.

He added that the accreditation of candidates commenced at exactly 6:30 a.m.

Candidates at the Florin High School, off Idimu Road, Ejigbo, scheduled for the second session at 9.00 a.m. did not start until 11 a.m. due to some network issues.

A candidate who pleaded anonymity said they were kept waiting in a hall until the issues were resolved before they went in to take their examination.

A Roving Group Member of JAMB in Lagos, Adam Adedimeji, reiterated the need for parents and candidates to make sure they identify their respective centres days ahead of the examination to avoid going to the wrong centre or arriving late on D-day.

“Like in this Wisdom House, it looks crammed up. Because of lack of enough space, candidates are sitting directly under the sun as they await their turn for the examination.

“There needs to be enough space to mount as many canopies as possible to accommodate all the candidates, as they wait for their time to get into the examination hall.

“They are going in for an examination and therefore, need to be psychologically ready or be in a good frame of mind,” he said.

Some candidates who took the examination at the WAEC International Centre Agidingbi in Ikeja stated that the exercise was a success.

 Mary Ibe, one of the candidates said the systems were in good shape which promoted the conduct of the examination.

Another candidate, Joke Fawehinmi, commended JAMB for the efforts made at ensuring a hitch-free exercise.