By MILLICENT IFEANYICHUKWU

Some intending candidates of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) at Abule Egba part of Lagos State spent up to six hours on Monday attempting to be registered.

UTME is conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the registration, earlier scheduled to start on Jan. 31, was rescheduled by JAMB to begin on Monday.

It will end on March 5.

Intending UTME candidates, including Miss Success Enonfu and her twin sister, who thronged to the Perfect Angel Computer Based Testing (CBT) Centre, Abule-Egba, spent six hours at the centre but could not be registered.

?We have been here since morning, we filled the forms and are waiting for our time but the system has been very sluggish, and at the end, were asked to return tomorrow.

?This will be our third attempt at UTME registration. The processes of the previous ones were better, and we spent less than one hour to get registered.

?We didn?t cross the cut-off marks then,? Success told NAN.

Miss Favour Adenle also told NAN, after waiting for hours, that she was at the centre on Friday, desiring to be registered without knowing that the registration was postponed.

?Many of us came here on Friday only to be told that the registration had been shifted till Monday.

?JAMB has been considerate in terms of the registration fee, but there is the need to put measures in place to ensure seamless registration,? she said.

Mr Emmanuel Owobu, who had written UTME twice, told NAN that he had given up hope of going to a university due to the lost opportunities, but was compelled by his parents to make another attempt.

He regretted the delay in the registration process at the centre, saying that it constituted additional discouragement.

?I didn?t want to try again but my parents said I must, and here I am sitting for hours without making a headway,? he said.

Mr Olaoluwa Adefamoye, the Manager of the CBT centre, said that the registration system was only accepting iPhone scanner.

He blamed the slow registration process on the issue.

Adefamoye said that the centre had 10 system operators ready to attend to intending UTME candidates but were being hindered by the situation.

?We have about 80 candidates on ground

?We were able to register few.

?The problem is not peculiar to this centre,? the manager told NAN.

He appealed to JAMB to let the registration system accept scanners from other devices to make the process faster and easier.

NAN reports that JAMB approved 870 CBT centres for the 2025 UTME, a notable increase from the 747 centres in 2024.

The examination begins on March 8.

Mock UTME is scheduled for Feb. 23.

2025 UTME registration costs N7,200. Candidates wishing to participate in the mock examination will pay N8,200, while direct entry candidates are expected to pay N5,700

Mock examination is designed to allow candidates to familiarise themselves with the CBT format and enhance their preparations.

JAMB also introduced a UTME Mock Trial for candidates below the age of 16 who wish to experience the CBT process without participating in the main UTME.

The aim is to prepare them ahead of time. (NAN)

Update news