The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the organiser of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), has recently been in the news due to some controversial results making the rounds in the media. In the light of this, some people have been recounting their JAMB experiences. Kingsley Alumona and Damilare Kehinde sampled the opinions of some Nigerians on this issue. Their views:
Timothy Faboade
Mine was when JAMB was using the paper-and-pencil test (PPT) method. You need to shade the corresponding paper types (types 1, 2, 3 and 4) on the OMR sheet. If you fail to do that, you are on your own. You even got to pray that your paper did not get missing when the invigilator sorted and packed the scripts. You would see ‘elders’ in the exam hall and initially think they were supervisors. A fantastic experience! You could not have your results at the tip of your fingers. You would go to a cyber cafe to check − the site would be loading slowly while your heart beat faster.
Toyosi Oke
Preparing for JAMB was not an easy task. I attended tutorials. I had difficulties in some subjects. I had sleepless nights, burning candles because all I wanted was an excellent result. Those moments were not the best for me, but I kept on working hard. I studied day and night. I was anxious, but I put God first and the exam went well. I had the assurance I was not going to stay at home for another year. When the result was out, I was successful.
Elijah Aderemi
The same centre I did my registration is the same centre I took my exam, inside the same institution of my first choice. I took my post-UTME inside the same institution and was admitted into the same institution.
Aishat Omitola
My experience as a JAMBite was a tough one. Generating my profile code was not easy. Though I registered late and did my exam on the first day. I was unlucky with the centre I was assigned to because it was not close to my house. Checking my result was another problem because of a bad network, but I received it eventually. Everything was settled and I passed.
Mimi Dav
Leaving us − for a good one week under the sun and the rain − outside the JAMB CBT centre at Kugbo, FCT while allowing children of the elite from private schools to enter for their registration. Later when we started protesting about their unfair treatment of us at their gate, they sent soldiers to flog us with ‘koboko’. I cannot forget that day in 2017.
Joshua Popoola
At my JAMB centre, there were no seats for candidates waiting outside. We were under the sun. I was supposed to start my exam by 9am, but due to a bad network, I wrote it by 3pm. I failed the exam because of the stress and the delay.
Rahoofat Akintola
My jamb registration went well. I did not have any issue with it. I received my profile code immediately after I registered. It was one of my biggest fear because I knew many people whose profile codes took days before they could get it. I did JAMB two times. The first one did not go quite well because it was during the COVID-19 period. We could not finish our syllabus in school and it affected me. I scored 228. On my second attempt, I was determined and had no fear. So, I scored 275.
Maximus Uzosike
I did my JAMB in 2011. My experience was that the exhaust of the motorcycle I boarded with my sister burnt my new shoe on the way to the JAMB centre. The weather was too cold and I could not notice my shoe was burning, and my exam centre was far from my home. So, I left home early so as to meet up.
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