Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) 2023 presidential candidate, has urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to immediately address the challenges faced by candidates registering for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), cautioning that students should not be forced to suffer due to administrative errors.
After seeing crowded areas and uncertainty at JAMB’s headquarters in Amawbia, Anambra State, Obi voiced his alarm, pointing out that similar stories have surfaced from other regions of the nation.
He noted that the problem seems to be connected to the banning of a number of computer-based testing facilities due to purported violations.
While acknowledging that authorities may have legitimate reasons to sanction erring centres, Obi urged the examination body to adopt a more balanced and humane approach.
He suggested that centres under investigation could be permitted to offer limited services under strict monitoring to prevent further violations.
He further recommended that, where the approval of new centres may take time, JAMB could temporarily utilise previously approved centres under close supervision to reduce the pressure on state offices.
“With the registration deadline approaching, many candidates – some travelling long distances and even spending nights away from home – risk missing the examination through no fault of their own.
“Students cannot be made to suffer the failings of a system to which we have all, in one way or another, contributed. Swift and compassionate intervention should be made to ensure that no young person’s academic future is jeopardised by avoidable administrative bottlenecks”, Obi said.
