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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Candidates for the Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in some parts of Rivers State have been disorganized by being unable to start their examinations as scheduled on Tuesday.
Specifically, at State School II, Elele, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state, which is one of the centres for the computer-based examination, candidates for the 6:30 am examination, have not started their papers as at the time (1:43 pm) of filing the report.
Daily Sun gathered that the candidates for the 6:30 am examination who were screened and cleared could not operate their computers as a result of the system shutdown.
Unidentified JAMB officials, who addressed the stranded students and parents, told them that the problem experienced at the centre was a national issue.
The official, who was visibly uncomfortable with the brewing confusion from the delay and system failure, urged the candidates and parents to be patient and wait for the final decision from JAMB.
Some of the candidates for the 6:30 papers, who spoke to Daily Sun said the condition of anonymity, after spending over three hours in the examination hall, the supervisors told them to leave the hall for those scheduled for the 9:30 am examination.
According to them, their supervisors attributed the challenge to a network problem and they might be rescheduled for the examination.
Some of the parents who came into Elele town on Monday for the examination, have berated JAMB for inefficiency.
Mr Daniel Chikere said faulty preparations and unimplementable policies were the bane of failure experienced in situations like external examinations.
He said: “I can’t believe that I would come to this place (Elele) all the way from Port Harcourt for an examination like JAMB, and the system will not work. It’s unbelievable and unimaginable.”
Another parent, Mrs Dorathy Linus, expressed dissatisfaction with JAMB, saying that the examination body should not take Nigerians for granted.
“Government is taking Nigerians for granted and it’s unfair. Is it not painful that you would leave the house quite early to completely outside Port Harcourt, only to be told that the examination is delayed because of network or system failure? Is it our failure or that of the government?
“Many parents and their children are stranded here because they did not plan for these unforeseen circumstances. I lodged with my son of 16 years old since yesterday; and, now, what we came for is quite uncertain.”
