The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) 2021 mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination UTME which took place across various centres in Nigeria recorded huge success.
JAMB confirmed that 160,617 candidates in 777 centres across the country participated in the exam with little or no technical glitches in most of the venues.
The Board’s Head of Media and Protocol, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said the essence of the mock exam was to test the capacity and suitability of the centres.
EDUCARE NEWS team of reporters visited some centres in Lagos to access the level of preparedness put in place by JAMB and the accredited CBT centres and the general conduct of the examination.
At Bafuto Institute for Information and Technology Ikotun, there was high level of adherence to the non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 protocols, that involves hand sanitizer, bucket with running tap water, candidates were also seen wearing face mask in an orderly queue, observing social distance.
The exam was conducted without any major hitches, as candidates expressed satisfaction with the level of conduct, and facilities put in place during the exams.
One of the candidates who sat for the exams at the Bafuto Institute centre, Tracy Iroulo spoke to EDUCARE NEWS and gave an account of her experience.
She said “they ask to wear our face mask, we were ask to be in an orderly queue, we did our registration, and moment later we entered the exam hall and sat according to our exam numbers, the hall was well ventilated and there was decorum, generally the conduct of the exams was successful without any problems.
She however sounded optimistic, and express confidence that in the 2021 UTME, she will come out in ‘flying colors.’
The coordinator of Bafuto Institute, Banjo Adekunle, while speaking to our reporter, said he is satisfied with the conduct of the exam, and also commended the good behavior of candidates.
He said “as you can see, everything started and ended without hitches, the exam went according to plan, and I must commend the good behaviour of candidates.”
In the Egbeda area of Lagos, our correspondent reported that CBT centre, Brain Builders, recorded relative success as the examination started and ended without any technical hitches
Addressing journalists at the end of the exercise in Abuja, Benjamin said the exercise conducted nationwide was hitch-free, except at the Dominion International School, Jabi, Abuja where there was a fire incident and candidates were redirected to other centres.
He said: “We have over 160,617 candidates sitting for this mock examination in all our CBT centres. We received a report of complaint of capacity and stability of one or two centres.
“Like in Abuja, there is a centre- Dominion International School, Jabi that caught fire during the examinations but everything has been put under control.”
Benjamin assured that JAMB is adequately prepared for the main UTME, which occurs between June 19 and July 3, 2021.
“The exams are going on well and with what we have now, it shows we are good to go for the main examinations coming up June 19,” he said.
The examination, which is aimed at preparing candidates for the actual UTME due to take place between June 19 and July 3, 2021, was administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, in all centres nationwide.
The 2021 UTME has been scheduled to commence on across all the centres in Nigeria, on June 5, 2021.
