Abia: Candidates Fail To Write UTME Due To Power Outage, Malfunctioning CBT Centres
The Computer Based Test (CBT) of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) located at the Ihechukwu Madubuike Institute of Technology, Isuochi in Umunneochi Local Government Area (LGA) of Abia State did not conduct the JAMB examinations due to power failure.
It was indeed a sad day for candidates and their parents who had thronged the venue from all over the country to participate in the exercise conducted by the examination body nationwide on Friday.
The development became riotous as parents battled to no avail with the officials of the centre to get their children to participate in the exams. The Coordinator of the Centre, whose name was not immediately given, blamed the power failure on the generator that suddenly stopped operation as the exams began due to lack of fuel.
It was gathered that due to the power outage, the computers stopped operation and candidates were asked to wait until the generator set was refilled.
A parent told CLOCK REPORTERS that even when the generator was refilled; it did not work, prompting an exchange of words between the disappointed parents and owners of the CBT centre.
CLOCK REPORTERS learnt that the exams were scheduled in batches. They were scheduled for: 7 am to 9 am, 9 am to 11 am. Others were: 11 am to 1 pm and 1 pm to 3 pm respectively and that the problem as soon as the exercise commenced.
None of the exams was taken at Umunneochi LGA as the disappointed parents who had waited from 6 am to 4 am rushed to the JAMB State Headquarters in Umuahia to lay their complaints.
Meanwhile, the Resident Monitor of CBT JAMB exams, Mrs Atinuke Aramu, has called for calm, pointing out that she had made a case to the JAMB Headquarters in Abuja for the rescheduling of the exercise in some parts of the state where the computers failed the candidates.
Mrs Aramu, who is from the Federal Ministry of Education, assured the aggrieved parents that her request for the rescheduling of the exams would be granted because according to her, it was obvious that the failure of the exams at Umunneochi and other places was a result of system failure.
Some parents at the venue who expressed disappointment include: a former Commissioner in Abia State, Chief Ezebunwa Ubani, retired a Permanent Secretary in the state and Mrs Ifeyinwa Abiakam who pleaded with the federal government to scrap the computer-based text, described it as a sure way of mortgaging the destiny of future leaders of this country.
Mrs Abiakam stated, “Some of these children have taken the exam more than five times; It’s another way of destroying their destinies. Some of these children would’ve been in higher institutions by now, but due to computer failures which are no fault of theirs, they’re forced to stay at home for up to five years.
