. Parents advocate health workers at centres
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board has advised candidates writing the 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination to ensure punctuality as it would not alter its timetable for lateness of any candidate.
The Board’s High Power Opinion Leader, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria after monitoring the exercise in Abuja on Friday.
JAMB will be conducting examination for 1,761,338 candidates that successfully registered for the examination in 755 registered computer based centres.
“If your child will be writing the JAMB exam this weekend, especially those for the 7a.m. papers, please note that the exam body will not consider them to write in the other scheduled time, if they missed their time schedule.
“As a body, we will not alter their timetable simply because some students are held up in traffic.
“Unlike the previous years that runs maximum of three sessions in a day, Jamb will be running four sessions this year, which will make it difficult for them to wait before commencement of the exams.
“Get to your center as early as possible. Once the exams start, no student will be allowed into the examination hall, hence, early arrival is important,” he said.
He advised parents to drive their ward to the venue of their examination as early as possible to avoid the risk of not writing the examination due to lateness.
Balogun, who monitored the examination at the Global Distance Learning Institute Centre Abuja, there was successful accreditation of 186 candidates out of the 200 registered for the centre.
He added that the first and second session earlier monitored was hitch-free.
“The candidates are being ushered into the hall in batches for the exercise to commence in earnest.
“The first and second sessions started on time at the Distance Learning Institute Abuja. There was no hitch in the exercise.
“In the second session, 197 candidates turned up out of 200. We are about to round up morning session and already screening the other batch and no issue so far was encountered during the process of the examination, that is, biometric, invigilation and other conduct,” he said.
Meanwhile, some parents have appealed to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to consider the introduction of health personnel during the conduct of its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
The parents spoke against the backdrop of some incidents recorded during the first session of the 2022 UTME in some centres on Friday in Lagos.
They also called on JAMB to reconsider change in the timing of the examination because of the rains.
Mrs. Jenny Anagor, who was at the centre with her daughter, scheduled for 7 a.m. session, alleged that a candidate, a sicker nearly passed out if not for the intervention of some parents.
Anagor said that the candidate apparently rushed to the centre, having realised that she was behind schedule following the early morning rain.
“You see, in as much as we know it is an examination, we should also look at ways of conducting it with some human face.
“Just like we have security officials and others attached to the centres, I think JAMB should also consider engaging the services of health personnel.
“Even if it is just one nurse with first aid per centre. This will go a long way in taking care of any emergency situation.
“We should not forget the fact that some of these candidates could also have been sick even before the date of the examination, or could even be coming from the hospital directly to participate in the examination.
“Imagine what could have happened to that candidate if some kind-hearted persons were not around. I had to do all I could to ensure that she got back to her feet because I am familiar with such experience,” she said.
Another parent, Peter Inochie, urged the examination body to consider the possibility of altering the timing of the examination due to the insecurity across the country.
Inochie also said there was the need for JAMB to consider moving the examination to dry season to make easier for candidates to get to their respective centres.
According to him, some cases of ill health could get worse during the rainy season.
“Generally, having the examination conducted during the rains constitutes more challenges for persons in the cities, even when examinations are not involved.
Inochie appealed that the first session of the examination should be moved from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. to give candidates ample time to get to their designated centres considering the state of insecurity in the country.
The JAMB Lagos Coordinator, Shittu Billiaminu, told NAN that 68 centres were being used for the examination in the state.
Billiaminu described the conduct of the examination in the various centres on the first day as a huge success.
The coordinator, however, noted that one of the centres had network issues but had since been rectified.
“I must say it has been a very successful outing on this first day of the examination. We only recorded technical hitches in one of the centres but this has since been tackled.
“I am very convinced that the situation will get even better by tomorrow,” he said.
(NAN)
