By Hosea Parah, Abuja

Some candidates and their parents have decried the system malfunction and technical glitches that characterised the conduct of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which started on Tuesday.

They spoke in Ibadan, calling on the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to find solutions to the problems faced by some candidates who were unable to write the examination due to the glitches.

A parent, Mrs Jumoke Ajayi, said: “The systems were not working, the first batch that went in for the examination at 6.30 a.m were unable to access the examination as most of them went home crying and wailing.

“Some candidates scheduled for 6.30 a.m were still inside while those scheduled for other sessions as at 9.00 a.m and 12 noon were waiting.

“The candidates experienced the same problem during the mock examination. One would have thought that things should have been taken care of at this same centre, PEFTI CBT Centre, Sango.”

Another parent, who simply identified himself as Mr Ladipo, said 80 per cent of the candidates scheduled for the early morning session were unable to write the examination.

Ladipo wondered what their fate would be as many of them were seen crying uncontrollable at the CBT centre.

One of the candidates, Idris Raji, said the computer systems including laptops were not working properly at his centre.

Raji said that many candidates due to the technical glitches were unable to write the examination.

“I was one of the few lucky candidates who were able to access the examination, even at that, the system keeps prompting us to reconnect.

“This is a limiting factor as time was already going and this issue would not be considered by JAMB as it is not aware of what we were faced with here.

“We are really suffering as candidates,” he said.

Responding to the complaints, Mr Ayobami Adeoyo, PEFTI CBT official, said the situation had been brought under control.

“We had issues at the first session, but we are able to overcome them by God’s grace and those affected would be rescheduled.

“We have put down their names and this will not affect other sessions,” Adeoyo said.

At Yinbol College, Orogun in Ibadan, parents also complained about conduct of the examination which they described as not satisfactory.

The official, who spoke under anonymity, said aside the generating set, which broke down due to a belt that snapped, the exercise has been going on smoothly.

“We have already accredited the second batch who are seated for the commencement of the examination, while we are also accrediting candidates for the third batch.

“We have 250 candidates sitting for the exam per batch and we are having three sessions a day and that is how it will be for the four days the examination will be held,” the official said.

Earlier, the JAMB Zonal Director, Ibadan, Mrs Olajumoke Adeleke said, “We have peaceful exercise, everything is calm, we thank God.”

Adeleke said there were 39 centres in Oyo State and technical issues had been sufficiently taken care of.