By Felix Khanoba
Scores of candidates in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) were full of tears on Tuesday in Abuja as they were denied access to the examination hall for arriving late.
The candidates, who were seen shedding tears outside the Global Distance Learning Institute, Central Area, were supposed to sit for the exam at 7:00am only to show up behind schedule.
The heart-rending pleadings of the candidates, who blamed their late coming on difficulty in locating the exam centre, could not yield any positive result as The AUTHORITY gathered that candidates that miss stipulated time for biometric verification before the exam would automatically not have access to questions.
Speaking on the issue, Spokesman of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dr Fabian Benjamin, appealed to candidates to always ensure they locate their centres on time and come on or before the stipulated time for the exam to prevent such incident as the system does not allow for late coming.
He said candidates that missed out on the UTME because of late arrival might have to wait till next year to register for the yearly exam.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Arc. Sonny Echono, has commended JAMB for the efficient handling of the ongoing UTME.
Echono, who stated this while monitoring the Day 3 exam in the Computer-Based Test (CBT) centre located at Global Distance Learning Institute, Central Area, Abuja on Tuesday, expressed satisfaction with the seamless process so far recorded.
“We are improving every time. This year we have some innovations; at the point of accrediting you for this exam we take your biometrics and it is the way of which even the questions can be activated on the computer.
“So everything is moving smoothly and candidates are also adjusting in getting used to the CBT test system, we are proud of Prof. Oloyede who put his integrity and commitment in delivering this to us.
“From the reports we have across the country, everything is moving smoothly; we have minimal hitches,” the Permanent Secretary said.
The AUTHORITY reports that the 2020 UTME which began on 14 March and is expected to end 4 April, has only recorded minimal hitches that range from biometric verification to local area network disruptions in some few centres.
