In spite of plaudits for JAMB over the conduct of the 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), investigations show that all was not well with the test.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has found while JAMB is congratulating itself for job well done, many candidates for the examination are hurting because of frustrations from the board.

Such candidates are those who cannot access their results days after JAMB claimed that it had released the results of over 1.5 million of the 1.6 million candidates who sat for UTME from March 9 to March 17.

The candidates said they had followed instructions by JAMB that they checked their results using their credentials on the JAMB website: www.jamb.org.ng but are getting discouraging messages.

They said the messages from JAMB were that they did not register for the examination or that they did not have any result yet.

A teacher, Mr Joseph Adebola, said five of his students who sat for the test had not got their results and wondered what the problem could be.

Adebola said that he had been worried, especially as some of the mates of the students had got their results and were concentrating on preparations for the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).

“I have been trying to comfort them so that they can concentrate on the WASSCE coming up in April but it has not been easy.

“JAMB should reduce the tension on the students by releasing their result,” he said.

Mr Ben Ugochukwu, also a teacher, said that by not letting the children know their fate in the UTME, the board was destroying their confidence.

“The children are going through psychological stress and need to be relieved.

“By withholding information from a student who sat for a test you are destroying him or her, especially when the child is convinced he did not violate any rule,” Ugochukwu said.

A parent, Mr Stephen Ahmed, said that he personally drove his son to the examination centre and ensured that he followed instructions.

“I am surprised that I cannot access the result of my child, all I continue to see is: “You do not have any result yet.

“I have tried from many locations and devices, believing it was a network challenge but the answer has been the same.

“My worry is that this boy is to write the Certificate Examination in April; if he can’t get the result of the test earlier, what assurance does he have that the one for a future exam will be released?” Ahmed asked.

Inquiries by NAN about the fate of candidates in this situation have not yielded results.

The Head of Information of JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, has refused to address the concerns of the candidates by not answering telephone calls made to him.

Signs that JAMB was not going to deliver on its promise emerged when it decided to release the results of the candidates who wrote the test on Friday, March 9.

The board released the results of the Friday test on Monday, March 11, against its pledge to verify all results before releasing them.

The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had said at a pre-test news conference that the board would take few days to verify results before releasing them.

However, JAMB hastily released the first set of results but could not sustain the tempo.

On Wednesday, Banjamin announced the release of all results, except those of 110,000, whom he claimed might have been involved in cheating.

He alleged that some students entered the halls with foreign materials and that some centres colluded with candidates to cheat.

The board had claimed prior to the examination that it had acquired the technology to monitor all its over 600 Computer Based Test centres from its control room. (NAN)

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