Internet and Power Issues In JAMB / UTME 2013 CBT Exams
The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Saturday cancelled the Computer-Based Test (CBT) in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted at one of its centres in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the examination had to be cancelled at the OAK Comprehensive College, Ogba centre, following power outage and inability to connect to the Internet.
“The 180 candidates who were to sit for the examination at Ogba had to be moved to a centre at Ikeja,’’ a JAMB official at the Ogba centre, who asked for anonymity, told NAN.
The official confirmed that the examination’s cancellation at the centre was as a result of technical problems and Internet failure.
“Examination questions could not be generated from the server,’’ the anonymous JAMB official said, describing the development as unfortunate.
He added that JAMB officials were already considering moving candidates at the centre to Chams, an examinations conducting centre, for future examinations to hold there from Monday to Friday.
Olajumoke Obasa, a candidate at the OAK centre, told NAN that she and others were moved to Chams because of Internet and power failure.
“The Internet was bad. There was no server and no UPS back-up, and as the OAK officials were trying to resolve the problem, there was a power failure,’’ she said.
Meanwhile, officials at Chams described the examination as a success at the Ikeja centre.
Akeem Balogun, a JAMB official, said there was no problem during the conduct of the examination.
Mr. Balogun said 350 candidates were scheduled to sit for the examination at Chams on Saturday but would from Monday have two sessions for the 700 candidates registered.
Similarly, at the Yaba College of Technology centre, the examination suffered some hitches following problems with internet connectivity, resulting in the CBT starting late.
A NAN correspondent, who monitored the examination, reports that some candidates had to be moved from the centre to other centres because they could not log on to the JAMB site.
According to an official who craved anonymity, 200 candidates were scheduled to sit for the examination at the centre.
However, the examination went smoothly at the Federal College of Education Technical (FCET) Akoka centre.
The JAMB supervisor at the centre, who refused to give his name, told NAN that the computers provided were working smoothly and were enough for all the candidates.
He said the computers were powered with a big generator set and that the examination body provided three other back-up generators in case of a breakdown.
The official disclosed that 180 candidates were registered to take the examination at the centre but only 172 showed up.
Bolu Akinyele, an official of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps at the centre, said that the examination went smoothly and without any hitch.
She said the number of candidates at the centre was reasonable and therefore did not prove too difficult to monitor.
“You can see how calm everywhere is. The number of candidates is small. So, we don’t have much to handle. The examination has gone smoothly,’’ Miss Akinyele said.
NAN reports that the accreditation of candidates started at 7 a.m, while the examination started by 9.05 a.m and ended by 12.30 p.m.
Also, at the University of Lagos centre, the examination which commenced at exactly 9.45 a.m after due accreditation of candidates was peaceful.
Officials were on ground early and inverters and generators were provided as back-ups in case of power failure.
Kamaldeen Oladeji, the Lagos Zonal Co-ordinator of JAMB, had told NAN the examination went on without any
hitches at the centre.
The co-ordinator advised candidates who would take the examination during the week to ensure that they updated their slips in order for them to be sure of the centres.
He said, with effect from Monday, the examination would be held in two sessions in order not to overstretch the infrastructure.(NAN)
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