The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), following several months of planning, began the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) on Friday in more than 700 locations nationwide.
Although there have been several recorded cases of internet malfunctions, the JAMB officials have guaranteed that no applicant will be disqualified due to the small difficulties.
Prof. Ishaq Oloyode, the Registrar of JAMB, however, criticised some corporate organisations and individuals who hastily award scholarships to alleged top performers or candidates who scored the highest while fielding questions from reporters after overseeing the examination in Kogo-Bwari, Abuja. He regretted that this practice was undermining the examination body’s functions.
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Recall the controversy that followed the administration of the 2023 exam, in which Mmesoma asserted that she had received a scholarship worth N3 million from Innocent Chukwuma, Chairman of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, for being the best scorer.
Mmesoma claimed to have scored the best in the 2023 UTME, but JAMB later revealed that she had falsified the results she was showing off. Later, she acknowledged that she had manipulated the results with her phone.
Speaking on the matter, Oloyede stated that the exam body is uncomfortable with scholarships being given to UTME top performers based only on exam results because that would ignore other requirements that are taken into account for admission.
“Yes, MTN and other people are giving scholarships to the highest (scorers) but we have always discouraged them, because you scored high in UTME doesn’t mean you are the best because some other factors will come in; the quality of your O Level will be added to it, Post-UTME scores will be added to it;
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“If you are going to NDA, your physical exercise will be added to it before we can say that you are the best; before we rank you, so why rank people prematurely?
“You will see somebody saying my son scored 330, and in addition to that, he had 7 A1s. Is he not qualified? He might be qualified when you are ranking people in your village; when it comes to Nigeria, he may be 650 despite the so-called brilliance to you,” he said.
After the 2024 UTME began on Friday, Oloyede urged applicants who had technical difficulties to maintain composure because they would be rescheduled to retake the test.
He claims that everything has gone well thus far with the UTME, with only one centre reportedly experiencing problems.
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“We appeal to the public to understand this, some centres will fail. I have heard of only one centre that has failed today.
“By the end of today, I expect about 10 percent of the centres to have one problem or the other because we know the level of development in different parts of the country.
“We are not encouraging this, but when it happens, please do not disrupt others.
“It is important to note that when a session fails because of a problem, you cannot bring those candidates to do session two, they will have to step aside, and the headquarters will have to be contacted.
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“The earliest time they can be scheduled will be after 4:30 p.m. so that those slated for sections two and three can write, and these candidates can now write for session four, and in some cases, they can even be scheduled for the following day,” the JAMB boss stated.
Remember that JAMB gave Computer Based Centre (CBT) owners the authority to detain parents they spotted near exam rooms on the grounds that they typically assist and abet academic dishonesty.
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