2024 UTME: Mixed experiences in Lagos CBT centres
The first day of the examination in Lagos report that technical hitches occurred at the Wisdom House, Yaya Abatan, Ogba, one of the Computer-Based Test centres, early in the day.
Some candidates claimed that the hitches led to some of them being logged out before the expected time.
One of the affected candidates, who gave her name as Precious, said she was scheduled for the first session.
She said that she got to the centre at 6:30 am, did her biometrics and went in for the examination.
According to her, a few minutes after commencement of the examination, there was power outage that led to the shut down of all the systems in the hall.
She said that it took about 45 minutes for the centre operators to rectify the challenge and even when they did, many of them could no longer log in.
“A lot of time was again spent by the centre owners battling to get the challenge resolved and eventually when they did, most of us could barely do only two subjects, while others could not attempt any before we were finally logged out, signaling the end of examination for the first session,” she said.
Confirming the issue, supervisor of the centre, Mrs Aisha Abdulbaqi, said no fewer than 50 candidates were affected by the development.
She cited land cable of the centre and the systems as the main issues.
“We are thinking of what to do about these candidates who are affected. I guess the only way out will be rescheduling them,” she said.
The centre administrator, who did not want his name in print, said the entire development came up abruptly.
He said that before now, the systems and all other backups had been in top shape.
“It was just a technical glitch, and when it occurred, we immediately rallied round to fix it and everything started working again”, he said.
NAN reports that the second session for the day that was supposed to begin by 9.00 a.m was postponed to 4.00p.m. in the same centre, because of another technical hitch.
“The examination for the second set has now been also postponed, because the technical officers from JAMB have been battling to push the examination to no avail.
“This is no longer a fault from the centre, rather a hitch from the side of owners of the examination.
“The candidates for the second and final session will have to wait and get another biometric verification done before the time,” the centre administrator told NAN.
At the Al-Miyzan CBT centre, Ikotun-Idimu, the same issue was also recorded, as candidates scheduled for the 7.00 a.m. examination were affected by technical hitches on the system.
The centre administrator told NAN that a complaint had been lodged at JAMB, to see how the issue could be resolved.
They noted that candidates affected would be sent emails of when they they might likely be rescheduled for the examination.
Mrs Ajike Ajibola, a business woman, whose daughter was posted to the centre, said that they left their home early so they could meet up with the 7.00 a.m examination.
“But my daughter told me she could not do any examination on entering the hall, because the system was not coming up.
“This is the second time of bringing my children to this center, it is always this same issue.
“JAMB officials must be aware of this situation and address it immediately, because my daughter must write her examination,”she said.
“Another parent, Mr Adeniyi Adesonkan, who said his son was affected, described the development as disappointing.
He said that the failure of technology during such critical events in the country was worrisome.
“My son had prepared rigorously for this examination but with this situation, he won’t be happy.
“JAMB officials should always monitor and supervise these centres before accrediting them,” he said.
Meanwhile, the examination began as scheduled in other centres visited, with record of few candidates coming in behind time and some others absent.