CALL FOR CANCELATION OF THE ONGOING UNIFIED TERTIARY MATRICULATION EXAMINATION (UTME) BY CHIEF YOMI OTUBELA, FCMA, PRESIDENT OF YOMI OTUBELA FOUNDATION, AND PROPRIETOR, LAGOOZ SCHOOLS, AGEGE.

I have noted with keen interest the shoddy conduct of the ongoing JAMB CBT for candidates writing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in the country. I am worried that after the implementation of maiden CBT for its candidates, the country has still not got the basics of conducting CBT examination right. This came in the wake of trauma the candidates for CBT JAMB examination went through in the course of taking the examination nationwide. Some of which, I have identified as follows:

1 The abrupt change of examination venue without prior communication to students. This made a lot of students to start looking for their new centres on the date of the examination. For instance, Funke from Iyana Ipaja recounted her experience thus " I was initially meant to write my examination in New Ocean High School, Ayobo but on getting to the examination venue on the date of the examination, we were turned back by the security personnel who informed us that our centre had been relocated to Island Complex College in Meiran''. She went further ‘' some of these students did not even possess the transport fares to get to their new centres''.

2 The sudden change in examination time is another issue that the students had to grapple with. This became worrisome because some of these students may not know where to stay in the interim before their examination starts and therefore will be subjected to unusual stress of waiting for long before the commencement of their examination which could have effect their psychology and their performance.

3 Most of the centres used had issue with either their generating sets or networking system or even both which made students to lose some valuable time or even finish late in the evening with the attendant risk of accidents, kidnapping etc for such students.

4 The idea of posting students to far places or another state apart from the residence of the candidates to write unified tertiary matriculation examination should be discouraged in its entirety. Moreso, that the majority of the candidates for this examination are teenagers who may not have embarked on such journeys before coupled with security concerns attached to such journeys.

5 In some centres in Magboro, there was a total shutdown of both the generating and networking system and as a result, the examination had to be rescheduled to another day.

6 The rationale behind additional 40 marks added to candidates' scores needs to be justified

7 Consequent upon these identified problems at the CBT examination centres, the results of the examination therefore will never reflect true performance of the candidates and this may have negative consequence on students' confidence.

In view of this, I therefore suggest that the results of the JAMB CBT so far released should be cancelled and the ongoing CBT examination stopped and subsequently made optional to allow students decide whether they would want paper based test or Computer Based Test. This would also ensure that the facilities available for CBT are not overstretched to avoid frequent breakdown. However, in the future, when facilities are improved for CBT, the examination can then be computer based fully.

In the same vein, I am also worried about recent spate of kidnapping in schools just as i commiserate with the parents of the recently kidnapped three female students of the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state and pray that the children would be released soon. I therefore implore governments at both states and federal levels to deploy security personnel to man streets where schools are located in the country to protect lives and property.

Furthermore, I share in the joy of the parents of the released abducted child- Ese Oruru from Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. However, there are so many questions begging for answers such as why did it take the Nigerian Police six months to secure the release of Ese? Also, Bayelsa Police command needs to explain why it failed to act on the matter when it was first reported. Emir of Kano and Kano Police command needs to explain their level of involvement in the case. Kano Sharia Council and the Chief of Tufa village also need to explain their roles. In all, I want to appeal to the Nigerian Police to investigate this matter thoroughly to establish facts of the matter rather than acting on sentiments and all individuals found culpable in this case should be made to face the wrath of the law.

Similarly, I therefore conclude by calling on the Lagos State Police command to be alive to their responsibility by ensuring that all those responsible in the kidnap of these 3 students from Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School, Ikorodu are brought to book on time to avoid creating culture of fears in schools. Governments at various levels should embark on installing CCTV cameras on streets, highways etc this would help in quick arrest of the evil perpetrators on time. Schools should also install CCTV cameras within their vicinity. This CCTV advancement must be supported by a boost in the nation's supply of power. Lastly, our justice system must be overhauled to ensure that there is quick dispensation of justice without delays to serve as deterrent to others.

Hmmm