The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has addressed concerns raised by former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi regarding the timing of its examinations.
Obi had criticized the board for scheduling exams too early, forcing students to travel at night to distant venues.
He argued that this posed risks to their safety, with some students reportedly involved in accidents on their way to exam centers.
Obi also pointed out that the lack of enough universities and exam centers in Nigeria led to these challenges.
Obi took to his social media to express his concerns, sharing reports of students having to leave home as early as 6:00 AM for exams, some of them being teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17.
He called the situation reckless and stressed that the country’s educational system was failing the youth.
He further compared Nigeria’s education system to Indonesia’s, emphasizing that the country lacked sufficient investment in education, which reflected in the poor university-to-population ratio.
JAMB, in its response, clarified that examinations do not begin at 6:00 AM as stated by Obi.
The board confirmed that the exams are scheduled to start at 8:00 AM, with candidates arriving earlier for necessary verification processes.
JAMB assured that the earlier arrival time allows students to settle in before the exams begin.
The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) is currently ongoing.
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