3rd April, 2017
Some parents and candidates for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Abuja have called on JAMB to increase the time frame for registration as well as registration centres.
In separate interviews with newsmen on Sunday, they said considering the challenges faced so far, the number of centres and four week period for registration were not sufficient.
Mrs Vicky Anyembe, a parent who spoke with newsmen at one of the accredited Computer Based Test (CBT) Centres said it took her child three days to register for the examination.
Aymembe said it took her child three days to register because of the slow internet at the centre.
“We have been leaving the house every day before 6 a.m to ensure we are among the first to register but no avail because the centre has been having poor internet.
“If you ask me, I will say we are not ready for this computerised process because people are suffering to register.
“Government should do something about it maybe create more centres to ease the process.
“Some of these children have to return to the bank because of one issue or the other and the bank is not close by; it is dangerous sending these children across the highway,’’ she said.
The parent also urged the government to take nearest of residents into consideration before picking centres, adding that whatever is needed for the registration to be successful should be within a given environment.
Mr Adams John, another parent, complained of overcrowding in the banks as a result of the limited number of banks within the area.
John said the process took his boys three days to complete their registration processes and called on the government to devise other means of making the process less burdensome.
“I suggest that we can go back to buying scratch cards so that the children can register at their own convenience within the given time frame by JAMB.
“Also the issue of limited banks has to be addressed if the authorities really want the candidates to register within the four weeks period; or there may be need to extend the time,’’ he said.
Master Sani Ismail, a candidate commended JAMB for the new innovations in the registration process.
Ismail, however, called for an extension of time for the registration.
“The process of registration is okay, there has been an improvement but the problem we have is the time, it is too short.
“This is a nationwide examination; JAMB gave four weeks which is too short. I suggest that from next year they can make it two months so that people can register.’’
Ismail also appealed to JAMB to make the subject brochures available for students so they could cross check it before registering.
Another candidate, Miss Tope Adigun, said she had spent three days trying to register because of the slow internet at the centre.
Adigun called on the government to increase the registration centres, saying with the number of candidates we have this year and the challenge of the poor internet it would not be sufficient.
“If we in the city are going through all this stress imagine what people in the villages will be going through,’’ she said.