UTME: I am impressed by this year’s arrangement - Rufa’i

Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’I, the Minister of Education, says she is impressed with the conduct of this year’s Unified Tertiary Education Examination (UTME).

The Minister stated this on Saturday when she visited Junior Model Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja, one of the designated centres for the examination.

“I am impressed particularly for the arrangement this year especially in comparison to what we saw last year.’’

Rufa'I commended the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) for ensuring an improvement to how the examination was conducted in 2011 and extolled JAMB for upgrading its biometric finger-print machine.

“The biometrics is coming out fine. It is very much faster and the sitting arrangement in terms of the type of desk we have for the candidates has also improved.’’

 The minister added that she was impressed by the orderly manner the candidates walked into the hall.

It was reported by our newsmen that candidates started arriving at the centre at about 6:45 a.m. and the JAMB officials and examiners were on ground to receive them.

However, there were some candidates that the biometric machine could not capture their finger-prints.

The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde newsmen that hey would be attended to and be allowed to write the examination.

In his remarks, Sen. Uche Chukwumerije, Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, said that he was impressed by the administrative tidiness of JAMB.

“JAMB has provided all the requirements for writing the examination for the candidates to ensure that we have a full proof atmosphere in which examination takes place.”

“With what we saw, the nation is moving nearer to perfection in terms of conducting external examinations.”

 Also, Hon. Farouk Lawan, the Chairman, House Committee on Education, said that what he witnessed at the centre was an improvement from what happened last year.

“I must say in terms of the expeditious release of results that JAMB has reached a position where no other examination body has reached so far.

“And I believe that in terms of the maintenance of the integrity and credible examination, as by way of reducing the prevalence of examination malpractice, JAMB is doing very well.”

Lawan assured that the National Assembly would continue to support and encourage JAMB to do more in order to restore confidence in the conduct of examinations.