JAMB candidates protest alleged irregularities

About 95 students who reportedly registered to write the just concluded Joint Administration and Matriculation Board (JAMB) conducted exam in Ebonyi State, Friday protested alleged irregularities during the exam.

According to them, the irregularities include not being allowed to write the exams in some of the centres in the state and disappearance of their results from the JAMB website.

The students claimed that they were split into two sets at the Stella Maris Centre in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State since the hall and available computers could not accommodate all of them. But after the first set, there was no time to conduct the exams for the second batch, they said.

The protesters also included other candidates who alleged what they described as “mysterious” disappearance of their results from the board’s website after it had been reportedly released.

They carried placards with various inscriptions showing their displeasure.

One of the candidates, Okorie Felicia, noted that the JAMB officials told them “to wait that their exams would be rescheduled since there was no space and computers to accommodate them.”

“We were supposed to have our exams on March 10, 2018 by 9.00 a.m. About 95 of us were asked to wait that we will write our exams before another segment by 1.00 p.m. We waited patiently but those accommodated in the 9.00 a.m. segment extended to the afternoon exams. Since then, the JAMB officials have not done anything to reschedule the exams for us.”

Another candidate, Ugwu Peter, explained how his results “disappeared.”

“My own case is I checked my result and I scored 274 and on going to print the result, no mark was found. I ‘screenshot’ the result on my phone but it disappeared when I went back to print it out. Nobody has told us what happened since then and I am afraid as to what may have happened to the result.”

Meanwhile, a coordinator at one of the centres in the state, who spoke on condition of anonymity, called on the examination board to revert to the paper exams rather than the present computerised format. He said lack of exam materials at various centres culminated in the inefficiencies in the conduct of the examinations.

However, when contacted, the Ebonyi State JAMB coordinator, Jame Iheme, said she was not aware of any protest.

“Where did you say the candidates protested? I was not told but if you want to publish what happened, go ahead,” she said in response to an enquiry from PREMIUM TIMES.