THERE is a need to take an analytical look at the recent released results of the UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) for university admission seekers by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
JAMB’s Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, announced the release of the UTME results in a press conference held at the board’s headquarters in Bwari, Abuja a few days ago and according to him, over 1.94 million candidates registered and sat for the examination in 118 towns and over 700 centres across the nation.
This is significantly higher than the 1,595,779 candidates who registered for the 2023 edition.
The examination, which began on Friday, the 19th of April, ended on Monday, the 29th of April. Out of the 1,989,668 registered candidates, 80,810 were absent. A total of 1,904,189 sat for the UTME within the six days of the examination. Out of the 1,842,464 released results, an alarming 0.4% scored above 300, while 24% scored 50% (200/400) and above, the JAMB Boss had said. He also mentioned that 1,402,490, which is 76 percent of the candidates, scored below 200.
According to a public commentator, Zayd Isah, which I also agreed with, the performances of the candidates are undoubtedly below par, and many Nigerians are understandably disappointed and baffled. On various social media platforms, many people have attributed the record-breaking disastrous performance this year to the proliferation of social media. To these people, students no longer have time for their books due to the distraction of TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X.
There is also the matter of a consistently decreasing attention span, with scientists discovering that the attention span of the average Gen Z youth is similar to that of a goldfish: 8 seconds. Basically, most of the youths who sat for the UTME this year are more concerned about social media than studying hard to make something of their lives in order to contribute meaningfully to society. An aftermath study of the 2024 JAMB failure also delineated that, poor preparation and inadequate parental counsel. Some of these students may not have been motivated enough to study and prepare adequately and then, there is also over reliance on miracle centers that promise automatic success, rather than focusing on genuine study.
Others attribute the root cause of this year’s poor performance to the equally poor quality of education, especially in public schools nationwide. And I know most of us can agree that only a handful of public secondary schools in Nigeria can really claim to be up to the highest standards of education in this age and time.
The majority of these schools have become moribund spaces where students not only regress mentally, but begin developing negative attitudes and behaviours through drug abuse, other vices and of course, social media addiction. All of these and more have consequently convinced many parents that their wards are better off being in private schools, even if this means that they might have to pay exorbitant fees.
And there were confirmed report that a huge server problem in many centres across the country, therefore, it wasn’t a surprise when many of the parents argued that there was no justification for the results as some registered candidates couldn’t sit the examination due to network glitches and a shortage of computer systems. It’s truly disappointing that at this age, exams are still hindered by technical errors and server problems. Which leads me to my next question, Why introduce CBT exam when the board is not ready for it? I think the shade with pencil era is way better.
when I wrote JAMB in Danbatta many years ago, it was a one-day scheduled exam nationwide. I am yet to understand this new format of multiple exam days and sessions, which may have caused confusion and disorganization. I had thought the new format will ease things for both students and the board? Seems like things got a lot messier.
Another issue is our poor time management exacerbated by the African time culture, which leads to rushed exams and poor performance from both students and authorities. Do Nigerians keep to time? Exams might not have started at the scheduled time but then the students are rushed to finish on the stipulated time so that the next batch can come in.
And these also happen in our universities, I remember when I was in 300 level, there was a clash in timetable during exams and both departments refused to change their timetable. Both exams were slated for 8:30-10:30, funny enough it was the same venue. Guess how we wrote both exams? We were given an hour to write the first one, submit, remain seated and given the second exam paper in the remaining hour with a change of invigilators. And that’s an established Federal university.
An exam that was supposed to be for two hours took less than 50 minutes for many of us and we all passed. Well, I passed both. How? I don’t know. Oh, I was so scared of spilling so I had to pass. I read, crammed, prayed and cried. As it is, it seems most of these students need prayers and some crying on this JAMB matter.
Kabara, is a writer and public commentator. Her syndicated column, Voice, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays. She can be reached on hafceekay01@gmail.com
