The Tutorial School Operators Association has said that candidates for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination will experience pain and stress.
This was a reaction to the reduction in the number of computer-based centers across the country by the Joint Board of Admissions and Enrollment.
JAMB Registrar Prof Isaq Oloyede announced the reduction when he met education commissioners from across the country on Monday in Ikeja, Lagos.
It was inferred that JAMB reduced centers for reasons such as substandard facilities, failure to meet Board guidelines, and involvement in exam malpractice, among others.
Although the total number of TCC centers removed by the board was not provided, investigations revealed that in Ogun State, the number of TCC centers dropped from 43 to 21, in Abia State, the number dropped from 21 to 14 and in the state of Kogi. , decreased from 17 to 16.
But in an interview with the punchASTO National President Dotun Sodunke explained that although it was a good step to curb substandard CBT centers in the country, he added that the few centers available would not be enough for candidates to conveniently sit in 2023 UTME.
He said: “The reduction of CBT will make the candidates go through a lot of rigors to sit for the exam. I cannot imagine the stress and risks the students will experience. Some of them may be taken to far away CBT centers due to shrinkage. A candidate in Surulere can be taken to Badagry. By the time candidates go through the high cost of transportation, travel long distances, and sleep in hotels to take the exam, some will be kidnapped, raped, and many will fail, and we won’t get the best out of our universities. Not worth it.”
He suggested that JAMB should build 5,000 capacity Senate CBT megacenters that would accommodate more UTME candidates.
Also speaking, the Commissioner of Education in Kogi State, Mr. Wemi Jones, said: “This is the first time I have attended a meeting like this and many issues have been cleared up. As for the reduction of TCC centers, we would find out what happened and fix the loose ends. The size of the Kogi State requires that we have even more centers, not that the number be reduced.
The Commissioner of Education in Ogun State, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, congratulated the Board on the meeting.
“This is a novel idea, I mean meeting with the education commissioners and taking it forward. As Vice Chancellor, I participated in preparation meetings for UTME. But this is the first time such a meeting has been held. You know the practice in the past is that testing bodies just run tests without the state authorities knowing what’s going on.”
