…As Others Decry Poor Internet Network

As the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) began its 2017 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), candidates commended JAMB as others lamented the irregularities experienced in the network at the Computer Based Centres, some of the candidates who spoke in an interview with newsmen in some parts of the country decried poor internet network.
The Tide source observed orderliness at most of the exam centres visited while students took their turns to write the exam.
The 2017 UTME which commenced at about 8:30 a.m. is a two hour exam for every batch and is expected to hold for seven days excluding Sunday across the country.
Some of the candidates in FCT, Osun, Ebonyi and Nasarawa states expressed dissatisfaction over poor internet challenges at their respective CBT centres especially at Kunike International School, Ilesa road in Osogbo.
Also candidates at the Risewise CBT Centre in Kuchikau, Nasarawa State lamented poor internet facilities.
Mr Dauda Geoffrey at the CBT Centre, Kuchikau, said that he experienced some challenges ranging from bad network to system tripping off as a result of power failure.
He said that the operators in the centre were, however, able to manage the problems, adding that the experience can deter candidates from full concentration in the exam.
“Generally, the exam was good but some of us experienced some hitches while writing the exam because some of the computer systems were malfunctioning.
“They were logging in and out and we also experienced a situation where some of the systems were outrightly switched off.
“But the officials were able to manage the situation because for those of us with the challenge, we have to wait for some candidates to finish then we move to their system to write our exams,” he said.
Geoffrey, however, said he would rather prefer the old method of paper and pencil in writing the exam as it was stressed free.
Miss Faith Attah, also noted that the only problem faced in the centre was that of network failure, adding that JAMB authority should look for ways of solving the problems for the next batch of candidates.