260,000 Candidates Write Nationwide Mock UTME – JAMB Registrar, Oloyede
More than 260,000 candidates who registered for the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has written the nationwide mock examination conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Thursday.
The nationwide mock examination took place at 793 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centers, as disclosed by Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, who personally observed the proceedings at several centers in Abuja.
Oloyede, who was pleased with the smooth implementation of the examination across the country, stated that the purpose of the test was to assess readiness for the upcoming main UTME, scheduled to begin on Friday, April 19th, 2024.
He disclosed that the examination organization also effectively carried out the recruitment examination for the Nigerian Police on Wednesday. However the minor issues encountered during the Mock UTME at approximately four centers will be addressed.
In his words, “So far so good, we are doing mock after mock, just yesterday we conducted recruitment for the Police Service Commission throughout the country, that was a mock before today’s mock and that was in 411 centres across the country, and today we are conducting our own mock in 793 centres across the country.
“So far, we have about three or four places where they have one issue or the other, but we are trying to get over that. So, it is a good one, even those three (where there are issues), we will have a way of accomodating them even if they go down completely. But everything is going on well and the reports we have, is that we are very okay.”
Additionally, the JAMB boss mentioned that out of the total number of candidates who registered for the main 2024 UTME, which was 1.98 million, more than 260,000 participated in the mock exam.
” Over 260,000 candidates are sitting for the (mock) exam but the real exam we have 1.98 million, because we don’t want to turn our mock to another exam that is why we did not allow more than that number to register for the mock exam, which is just to test the system.”
Regarding the preparedness for the main UTME, Oloyede stated that JAMB was completely ready to ensure the exam runs smoothly. Additionally, he mentioned that they would implement new measures to strengthen the examination system.
” We are adequately ready for the exam,….today is a very special day for us. We know we are doing some internal revolution this year which we were apprehensive of the workability…
” We can now say we have arrived, what we said to ourselves about six, seven years ago, we have been able to achieve it today,” he said.
Oloyede disclosed that the Mock UTME results will be made available either this evening, which is Thursday, or tomorrow, which is Friday.
In a previous statement, Damilola Bamiro, an ICT consultant at JAMB, stated that the examination body maintained constant communication with all participating centers during the exam through the JAMB’s Situation Room.
According to him, the Situation Room enables prompt communication between the centers and JAMB, facilitating the swift resolution of any exam-related problems.
