JAMB conducts mock UTME for 211, 000 candidates nationwide

By Williams Anuku, Abuja

The management of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), on Monday, conducted a mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for 211, 000 candidates in various Computer Based Centres across the country.

Those who took the mock test were selected from 257,000 candidates that initially indicated interest to participate in the exercise while undergoing the registering processes.

Ishaq Oloyede, Registrar of JAMB, while monitoring the conduct of the examination at Veritas University, Abuja and other centres within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja frowned at the attitude of parents who accompanied their wards to examination centres.

He said parents should sometimes allow their children face challenges and sort out themselves, so as to become responsible citizens, rather than being over protective of them.

He said,“This idea of parents accompanying their children to examination centres should be discouraged because there is no way they can follow their wards into the examination halls, besides how would these candidates become independent, if they are not allowed to face little challenges of this nature”.

The Mock UTME was introduced by JAMB last year to identify areas of challenges prior to the conduct of the examination.

It was also introduced to enable prospective candidates acquaint themselves with the Computer Based Test (CBT) exercise and neutralise possible fear and anxiety during the exam proper.

Oloyede said apart from pockets of complaints in some centres, the exercise was quite satisfactory as candidates conducted themselves well.

He was also impressed with the reports from state offices, which indicated that the exercise went on smoothly as planned, even as he encouraged them and privately owned CBT centres to put finishing touches to their preparation for the 2018 UTME exercise.

According to the JAMB Registrar, the ban on items like wristwatches, pens, calculators, pencils, devices that could store data, transmit or receive signal, order than HB pencil still stands.

He said on scheduled date of March 9, 2018 when the real examination would commence such items would not be accepted into the CBT centres.

Oloyede also maintained that electronic devices such as mobile phones, spy reading glasses would be subjected to scrutiny before being allowed into the exam hall.

He added: “Similarly, books or any other reading or writing material, cameras, recorders, microphones, ear piece, ink or pen readers, smart lenses, smart rings or jewellery, smart buttons and bluetooth devices would not be allowed into the centres.”

He said prohibition of the above listed materials and other rules were applicable to, not only to candidates but to the supervisors and examiners as well.