PARENTS and candidates sitting for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) at the State III Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area, Rivers state, were left cursing and swearing, Tuesday, over their fate as network glitch marred the exercise.
From 6.30a.m., when the network failure shut out the first set of candidates from taking the two hourly Computer Based Test (CBT), the sets for 9.30a.m. and 12.30p.m. also failed to access the system to take the examination.
One of the frustrated parents told Vanguard, “My son registered in Port Harcourt among the earliest candidates and to be candid, I never felt comfortable with the arrangement when his details printout mentioned Elele, two local government areas apart from Port Harcourt where he registered.
“You won’t believe it, we had to come the night before and stayed in a hotel. We live in Port Harcourt and he was scheduled for the very first set at 6.30 am. I never knew JAMB of today fixes exams for as early as 6.30 am in centres far from a candidate’s place of residence.
“And this morning, getting here much before 6.30 am, the children have been made to wait, that there is a network failure they would rectify. But the sets of 9.30 am and 12.30 pm have come in to meet the same challenge. My neighbour has confirmed her daughter who wrote at a Port Harcourt centre has returned home. How frustrating can it get?”
When contacted, the Spokesman, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said, “All the candidates should wait. The person in charge of that centre would address the problem and if not reschedule those affected for another day. They will surely take the exam.”
After hours of waiting to no avail, one of the officials handling the centre told the gathering of edgy candidates and parents, “We will send you text messages on when you will be rescheduled to take your exams. You can all go home.”
