JAMB: Candidates Protest To Lagos Assembly As JAMB Accuses Education Consultants

SOME candidates, who wrote the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME) Computer Based Test (CBT), protested to the Lagos State House of Assembly in Alausa, Lagos yesterday faulting the “incorrect scores” released by the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) for the examination.

 

Addressing the protesting candidates, the Majority Leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade, welcomed them stating that they took the right step by locating the lawmakers and assured that their grievances will be channeled to the appropriate quarters. He explained that they were busy attending to other important matters.

In another dimension, the management of JAMB has stated that the protest was orchestrated by “education consultants, whose CBT centres were not shortlisted for the UTME for not meeting up with the criteria.

Following the poor results released by JAMB, President of the Association of Tutorial School Operators, Mr. Oludotun Shodunke, issued a three-day ultimatum to the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, to give the candidates their real grades.

“We are protesting because of the terrible thing done by the JAMB registrar. He decided not to mark this year’s JAMB. He just gave out marks arbitrarily.”

However, the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) has urged the protesting candidates to direct their complaints to the board rather than being used by “education consultants” for selfish interest.

A statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, described the “education consultants” as business owners that applied to run the examination as Computer Based Centres but failed JAMB’s screening.

“JAMB has called for calm and advised candidates to always avail themselves of the opportunity provided by the Board through it public complaints unit to vent their grievances and not to allow anybody to use them for any selfish interest.

“The Board had approved centres provided by these individuals to be used for the 2016 exercise, but unfortunately couldn’t as the centres were found to be lacking in all the indices needed for a successful CBT examination.  This was discussed with these proprietors and they showed understanding as they witnessed the difficulties the Board went through to run even a session in their centres.

“It is surprising that these same proprietors will turn around to organised candidates to protest over our activities. We are not perfect as an organisation but working hard to ensure that Nigerian education is better than it is.  We have taken the risk to do the unthinkable so as to change the paradigm.

 

“It is no news that the worst CBT is far better than the best Paper and Pencil Test. At least, the era of candidates pouring acid on staff, bolting with question papers into the bush and all manners of unthinkable embarrassing acts are gone,” he said.

However, few of the candidates who took laws into their hands by throwing stones at the House of Assembly complex were apprehended by the the team of the Rapid Respond Squad (RRS) to forestall breakdown of law and order.