… JAMB Denies Allegations of 6 am Exam Schedule
Daud Olatunji
Former presidential candidate and ex-governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has berated the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over what he described as the “reckless” scheduling of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), warning that the arrangement is putting the lives of young Nigerians at grave risk.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Obi lamented that teenagers, many between the ages of 15 and 17, are being made to report at examination centres as early as 6:30am, often forcing them to travel in the dark through unsafe and unfamiliar territories.
“These are teenagers forced to travel in the dark, often across dangerous and unfamiliar areas, just to exercise their right to education,” he said.
The 2025 UTME, which commenced on Thursday, April 24, will run until Monday, May 5, 2025.
Obi described the practice as “reckless,” citing reports of road accidents, missing persons, and psychological trauma involving candidates during the examination period.
“Who takes responsibility when a 15- or 16-year-old child disappears or is harmed while trying to access their right to education?” he queried.
The Labour Party stalwart further linked the situation to a larger failure within Nigeria’s education sector, noting that the country’s tertiary education infrastructure is grossly inadequate for its burgeoning population.
“Nigeria has just about 200 universities for a population of over 200 million people. That’s one university for every one million citizens, a staggering and deeply worrying ratio,” Obi said.
He compared Nigeria’s gross enrollment ratio of about 12 percent to Indonesia’s 45 percent, pointing out that the Southeast Asian country, with a population of 280 million, boasts over 4,000 tertiary institutions.
“Indonesia has over 10 million students enrolled in tertiary education and a much more equitable spread of universities across its regions. This makes access to education safer and more democratic,” he added.
Obi urged the federal government to massively invest in the education sector, stressing that increasing the number of universities even to half of Indonesia’s would ease access and reduce risks for students.
“Education is not a luxury or an expense. It is the biggest contributor to national development. You cannot claim to want development while starving the youth of access to knowledge,” he stated.
The former governor called for urgent reforms to expand the education system in line with Nigeria’s growing population, insisting that the nation owes it to its youth to ensure their safety and access to quality education.
“Our young generation should not be endangered because they desire education. We must do better,” Obi said.
Meanwhile, JAMB, in a brief reaction, attempted to clarify that pre-examination verification processes, not the exams themselves, require early arrival. However, the board was silent on the risks associated with students traveling in the early hours.
Earlier reports indicated that a teenage girl went missing on her way to a UTME centre in the Ajah area of Lagos, sparking further concerns among parents and stakeholders about the safety of candidates.
… JAMB Denies Allegations of 6 am Exam Schedule
Meanwhile, the JAMB has dismissed claims made by Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, that the examination body forced teenagers to travel in the dark for exams held at 6:30 am.
JAMB in a statement issued on Sunday, clarified that the exams were scheduled to start at 8:00 am, not 6:00 am as claimed by Obi.
The exam body explained that the 6:30 am time referred to the commencement of verification and clearance processes, which were necessary to ensure candidates were fully prepared before the actual exam started.
“We must assert that our examination is scheduled to commence at 8:00 am, not 6:00 am,” JAMB stated, adding that the early clearance process was intended to provide sufficient time for students to settle in before the exam began.
JAMB also explained that the process of verification was structured to account for delays, allowing ample time for candidates to be properly settled and ready for the exam.
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