The Joint Admission Matriculation Board, JAMB, amidst protests as concerning the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, has bowed to pressure and promised to reconduct examinations for candidates who.missed their Computer-Based Test (CBT) because of relocation of centres by the board.
The board which took responsibility for relocating 59,000 candidates in 15 states said the move was as a result of problems encountered in some of the centres.
Adding to this, the examination board has also promised that candidates who experienced system failures during their examinations would be allowed a second chance at taking the examination if the board found their complaint genuine.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, the Registrar of the Examination board, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde noted that the development does not cut across candidates who missed their exams deliberately or those who failed outrightly.
Acknowledging complaints about multiple results as claimed by candidates who sat for the examination, the Registrar of the examination body added that the 145,704 affected candidates’ results had been resolved by the board.
“Let me use this opportunity to offer explanation on the issue of the much-publicized two results. The process of our marking involves transformation and other qualitative programming. In the process of these configurations, we had a little challenge which we quickly corrected and ensured that this never happened in subsequent results. This challenge was only associated with the candidates that sat for this examination on Saturday, 27, and some candidates of Monday, 29 February, 2016.”
Prof. Dibu Ojerinde added that; “In our quest to have adequate and effective centres for the exercise, we approved over 500 centres, but unfortunately, some of the centre operators were not sincere in proving us with the true position of their facilities.
“They hired equipment during the period of accreditation and other necessary apparatus and on the examination day, they were found wanting. This led to relocation or rescheduling of candidates from some of them to more suitable centres.
“Even the physically challenged are taking the CBT examination. One of the blind candidates scored 286, so why should others complain?” He added.
On the call by the house of representatives for the examination body to return to its paper based test due to rising complains by candidates, the JAMB Registrar said; “Going back to the Paper and Pencil Test will amount to taking one step forward and two steps backwards,”