2016 UTME Exercise Is A National Embarrassment, Says MURIC

The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has described the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) exercise as a colossal fiasco, a monumental scandal and a national embarrassment. The group made this known in a statement on Saturday, by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola. He denounced the timing of the CBT examinations, noting that candidates were forced to start in their centres from 6.30 am in compliance with JAMB timetable. He said, “This arbitrary timing is also responsible for the absence of a whopping 23,577 candidates on the day of the examination. In a country where power supply is epileptic and security of lives and properties cannot be guaranteed, this is strange, shocking, callous, insensitive and irrational. The examination body unnecessarily exposed our young ones and our future leaders to danger. Some candidates allegedly lost their belongings when they were attacked by hoodlums on their way to the examination ccenter,” he noted. MURIC also condemned the banning of hijab by female Muslim candidates at the examination centres. Akintola suggested that JAMB should consider giving extra 25 points each to all candidates across the board in view of the fact that undermarking is the major flaw in the last exercise. His words: “Candidates should be given the option of taking computer-based or written tests using paper and pen. Ad-hoc staff must be properly briefed and must not stop religious profiling of hijab-wearing female Muslim candidates. JAMB results should be valid for three years. The examination body should co-opt security experts to its planning committees when preparing for examinations.” The group also urge universities within the country to lower their cut-off points and rely more on their internally conducted post-JAMB examinations for admitting students into their various programmes.

Share: