Lagos, Nigeria — Na serious wahala dey happen for Nigeria as the body wey dey run university entrance exams, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), don admit say dem get serious technical glitch wey affect results of this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Dis year, nearly 80% of students get low grades, wey cause plenty frustration and serious outcry from students and parents.
Many students complain say dem no fit log in to the computer, some questions no dey show on their screens, and power cuts dey make am impossible to take the exam correctly. Dis low pass rate don provoke serious anger all over di country, especially after one candidate, Faith Opesusi Timileyin, a 19-year-old girl, take her own life after scoring low in di exam. Her family talk say she swallow poison, wey dem say na because di exam result dey cause am pain.
Her father, Oluwafemi Opesusi, reveal say dis na her second time wey she dey sit for di exam after she score 193 last year. “Di pain make her take her own life,” he tell BBC Pidgin. Normally, to gain admission to university, candidates dey need at least 200 out of 400.
Out of 1.9 million students, only about 400,000 fit reach dat mark, na one of di worst performance for recent years. JAMB don respond to di public outcry, promise say some students go fit retake their exams due to di glitch.
One student, Favour Eke, share her experience with BBC Igbo, talk say 10 out of di 165 questions no show for her screen, leaving only di multiple-choice options visible. “Wey dem tell us to skip di blank questions, e no easy to concentrate again,” she lamented. She don dey try for dis exam since dis na her third time, and despite di glitch, she no go fit retake di exam cause di area wey she sit di test, Abuja, no dey part of di places wey qualify for retake.
Di exams body don apologize for di “painful damage” wey dis situation don cause, and di registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, break down for tears as he dey talk about di issue. He confirm say nearly 380,000 students from 157 centres go fit retake di exam starting from di coming Saturday.
Di problem mostly affect students for Lagos and several states for di South-East. JAMB blame di issue for di technical failure wey prevent di system from uploading exam responses during di early days of di exams. According to JAMB, dis situation no suppose happen. Dem admit say “unusual level of public concerns and loud complaints” prompt dem to do immediate audit.
Di UTME na computer-based test wey don dey run since 2013 to make exam process clearer and better for students, but di problems don follow dem through di years with issues like power outages, system crashes, and login errors. JAMB insist say dis year’s low results show di “true academic abilities” of di students because dem dey fight cheating.
Critics on social media don dey call for accountability, some even dey demand say Oloyede need to resign. Opposition figure Peter Obi comment say di admission of fault dey commendable, but e raise bigger concerns about di glitches wey dey damage critical institutions. Rights activist Rinu Oduala call am “incompetence,” describing di situation as “educational sabotage.”
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