The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for admissions into universities will hold tomorrow (Saturday).
The exam will take place simultaneously across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. And in all, over 1.6 million candidates are expected to sit for the exam in about 378 designated examination towns nationwide. The exam will equally hold in six other countries, including Accra in Ghana; Cotonou in Republic of Benin; Buea in Republic of Cameroon; London in United Kingdom; Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Johannesburg in South Africa.
But unlike last year when a little above 100,000 from over 1.7 million candidates opted for the Computer Based Test (CBT) otherwise known as online exam, over 600,000 candidates will go for the model this year in about 153 centres nationwide. Others will take the conventional pencil and paper based test. It is expected however, that all candidates for board’s exam will write CBT compulsorily from next year.
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which is saddles with the responsibility of conducting the exercise, told National Mirror on Tuesday that the board was fully prepared to conduct not only just an exam but the one that would be credible and acceptable to the public.
The board’s Public Relations Officer, Dr. Fabian Benjamin said all what candidates need to do is to study very hard at home and come to the halls with the aim of passing the exam unassisted. He said the board had put strong measures in place to seal up all the loopholes that could lead to exam malpractice.
One of these according to him is that every candidate would be screened with biometric machines to ascertain their correct identities before they will be allowed into the exam halls.
He added that no candidate would also be allowed to go into the exam halls with cell phones or any form of papers on them. These measures, he pointed out, would prevent impersonation of candidates and cheating.
For parents who would want to follow their wards to exam centres with the purpose of aiding them to cheat, Fabian said “No parent will have such opportunity since they will not even be allowed to go beyond the gate of the exam centre.”
He vowed that parents who dared the board on this would be apprehended and handed over to the police for prosecution and likewise fraudulent invigilators. He noted that aside this, security agents including the policemen and officers of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) would be on ground to prevent disorderliness in the exam arena.
When asked whether the exam would also hold in the three volatile North-east states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa where incidence of terrorists’ attacks on innocent people including students is rife, the board’s spokesman said the exam would hold there and assured all candidates and the public in those areas of adequate safety.
Sadly, only about 500,000 from the total candidates after meeting other requirements will be offered provisional admission by all the tertiary institutions-universities, polytechnics, monothechnics and colleges of education ,public and private alike, nationwide. The number according to JAMB is based on the schools’ carrying capacity, which depends on the supportive facilities on ground in each institution.
