Newsscreen

The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board(JAMB) has released the results of the 2012 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the results of 27,266 candidates across eight states were withheld for various reasons. Another local media revealed further that only three candidates scored above 300.

A total of 1,503,931 candidates were registered for the 2012 UTME, which held last Saturday in 375 towns in Nigeria and six foreign centres, making it the one with the highest number of registered candidates since the existence of JAMB.

Contrary to earlier fears that the Boko Haram sect would disrupt the exam in some Northern states, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, said the State Security Service and other security agencies had been engaged to deal with any security threat.

The exam proceeded on the set date without any security problem.

Over 1.5 million candidates will write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) today.

Prof. ’Dibu Ojerinde made this revelation at a press briefing last Tuesday in Abuja. He announced that a total of 1,503,931 candidates registered for the 2012 UTME, making it the highest number of candidates ever to write the annual examination.

This figure represents a marginal increase of 10,338 candidates against an increase of 117,961, the 2011 UTME had over its maiden edition in 2010.

He said 1,375,642 registered for the examination in 2010 while 1,493,603 candidates registered for the same examination in 2011.

He further said today’s exam would hold simultaneously in 375 towns in Nigeria and six foreign centres. They are Accra (Ghana), Buea (Cameroun), Cotonou (Benin Republic), London, Jeddah and Johannesburg. Examinations will be written in a total of 3,001 centres as against the 2,872 centres used for the 2011 UTME. Ojerinde attributed the increase in the number of centres both home and abroad to the increased acceptance of the exam.

Ojerinde said about 467,000 gained admissions to various institutions for the 2011/2012 academic session. With the establishment of nine additional Federal Universities, admission slot is expected to increase to over 500,000 for the 2012/2013 academic session.

Candidates are expected to undergo a biometric fingerprint exercise at the exam centres, which the Registrar explained had been improved upon to deliver quality service. According to him, it would take between 30 and 40 minutes to screen the 540 candidates in each centre.

Already, candidates have been provided writing materials and calculators by the examination body at the point of purchase of forms to prevent malpractices during the exam.

President of the Albino Foundation, Jake Epelle has commended the leadership of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for the special consideration planned for albinos in the upcoming examinations.

Epelle’s commendation is coming on the heels of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board’s (JAMB) registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde’s categorisation of albino candidates as virtually impaired persons.

To further assist albinos during the examinations, JAMB has awarded additional two hours for them in the future examinations in the country.

‘We are trailing the blaze by incorporating the eye problem of the group into our examination planning”, Ojerinde said. The organisaton in its determination to provide equal chances for all candidates also plans to provide magnifying glasses for albinos to aid their sight during the examinations.

The registrar however called on other examination bodies in the country to replicate JAMB’s plan for the albinos as most Nigerians are ignorant of the sight challenges they face on a daily basis.

Epelle leads about 4,000 albino members out of the total 2 million albino population in Nigeria through his organization which has provided motivation, self esteem, identity and comfort for them in the country. According to him, JAMB’s gesture will encourage albino candidates to perform well at the future UTME examinations.