The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has refused to take the blame for the purported mass failure of candidates in the ongoing 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
In a swift reaction, JAMB explained that the 2021 UTME questions were set in accordance with the laid down syllabus.
The Head, Public Affairs and Protocol of JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, in his response, attributed the failure to what he termed “disgruntled candidates, who were ill-prepared for the examination.”
Benjamin said those whose illicit source of income has been blocked were behind reports of mass failure.
He further insisted that the 2021 performance was not significantly different from those of previous years.
He said “The board ordinarily would not have reacted to the half-truth being peddled by some disgruntled candidates, who were ill-prepared for the examination.
“And who, true to all expectations, performed below the expectations of their guardians, that the Board had based its questions on the wrong syllabus.
“It is our belief that based on facts on the ground, every right-thinking Nigerian would question the 6,944,368 figures on which the 14 percent “pass” is based.
“For instance, in the 2021 UTME, 1, 415,501 registered for both UTME/DE. Out of this figure, 1,340,003 candidates registered for UTME and 75, 498 registered for DE,” he said.
Benjamin disclosed that JAMB ensured that materials within its syllabus are available for candidates on different platforms.
“The syllabus was issued to candidates through the board’s Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System (IBASS), the CD which is given to candidates after completion of registration,” he said.
Recall that the UTME started on Saturday, June 19, 2021, however, there is a strong indication of mass failure for candidates who had sat for the examination.
Some of the candidates who had low scores in the exam expressed sadness over the outcome of the exercise as they blame JAMB for the poor performance of candidates.
