Candidates for the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) defied Saturday’s early morning downpour in Lagos to meet up with the time for the day-one of the examination across various locations in the state.
Over 1.9 million candidates will participate in this year’s examination in 665 centres acoss the Lagos Zone.
The rain began as early as 5.20 a.m. in some areas of the state while some candidates scheduled for the first and second sessions at 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. respectively scrambled to reach their centres to beat the time.
However, candidates who were scheduled for the first session could not commence the examination at the stipulated time until 9 a.m. in spite of reaching their centres well ahead of time.
At Enefem Computer Training Centre in Ayobo, at the Iyana Ipaja axis, Value Place College in Idimu and the ETC Centre on Ikorodu road, the examination did not commence at the stipulated time.
Mr Emmanuel Wambai, Director incharge of the Lagos Zonal Office of JAMB which covers Lagos and Ogun, however regretted the slight delay in commencement witnessed in some of the Lagos centres.
“I will like to assure you that everything will normalise before the day-two of this examination.
“Firstly, I will like to attribute the slight delay to the early morning down pour. This of course hindered free movement of some of the examination officials.
“Secondly, we also have to contend with logistics in the various centres.
”This has do with issues like setting up of the verification machines by the centre officials and other things for the smooth take off of the take examination.
“But in all, I must salute the conduct of the students, while they waited patiently for the commencement of the examination process.
“I also want to commend them for getting to their respective centres early enough in spite of the downpour.
”It shows that the consciousness of the candidates who want to be part of the process is very high,” he said.
Wambai said a total of 68 centres were being used in Lagos for the examination.
According to him, the board is looking forward to one of its best examinations ever conducted in recent times, going by the level of preparadness.
.Some of the candidates who participated in the examination said that the process was hitch free.
Dayo Sanusi, who wrote at the Enefem Comouter Training centre, said that JAMB was gradually taking the country’s examination system to where it ought to be.
”I am very delighted with the way the system is working. There was no hitch and the questions were okay.
”In all, I am looking forward to a successful outcome,” he said.
Another candidate, Kofoworola Ayeni, who wrote the examination at Value Place College, also expressed satisfaction with the logistics put in place for the examination.
