The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Saturday kicked off the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) nationwide to pave way for admission process in the 2020 – 2021 academic year.
The exercise, being conducted in over 700 centres nationwide, would last till April 4, 2020.
Already, JAMB had confirmed over 1.9 million candidates as having registered for the examination nationwide.
On February 18, 2020, JAMB conducted a mock test for candidates on optional basis.
At one of the centres visited to monitor the process, Afrihub ICT Institute in Abuja, the process was observed to have gone smoothly, except for few candidates whose registration details could not be verified immediately, through the biometric system.
With 200 candidates screened to take the examination in two batches on the day of commencement, supervisors certified by JAMB were seen using only one computer system to verify each candidate details before walking them to the examination halls.
One candidate, Justin Favour, who spoke to our correspondent, said after placing her finger thumbs on the machine several times, her details could not pop up, forcing JAMB officials to fix her on another date to sit for the examination.
She explained that she registered for the examination in Katsina, but chose Abuja as her centre.
Some of the candidates who sat for the first batch, described the process as hitch-free, except for delays in commencing the examination.
According to the candidate, they were supposed to start by 7 a.m but could not until 9 a.m.
Prior to the commencement of the examination, observed irregularities on the part of some of CBT managers, had prompted JAMB to suspend several centres nationwide.
They were alleged to have gone contrary to instructions given by the board.
Among issues that prompted their suspension were registration infractions, extortion of candidates directly or through proxy, technical deficiency through third party examination, and inability to produce JAMB security equipment in their possession.
Among states caught in the web of these alleged infractions were Rivers, Anambra, Nasarawa, Delta, Bayelsa, Katsina, Kwara and Lagos.
Others were Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Adamawa and Niger states.
JAMB’s Registrar and Chief Executive, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, had also announced the suspension of the National Identity Number (NIN) for candidates following logistic challenges on the part of the handlers.
Before the suspension, the board had insisted that it was compulsory for candidates to have NIN as prerequisite for registration.
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