2021 UTME: Candidates, parents decry low scores as JAMB releases results

Reactions have continued to follow the recently released results of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination ( UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Some candidates and parents who spoke in separate interviews with our reporter on Monday in Bwari, Abuja, expressed their displeasure.

Recall that the board on Friday, June 25, released the first batch of results of candidates who sat for the examination between Saturday, June 19, and Tuesday, June 22.

While some candidates expressed satisfaction with their scores, others expressed disappointment on the results.

Oluwakemi Moses, a candidate, who said that she wanted to study medicine, said she scored 167, a score she explained, was not only too low but also below her first attempt of the examination in 2020.

“I wrote UTME last year and scored 198; that was why I sat for it again this year so that I can make at least 200 or more because I intend to apply for Medicine.

“This year just disappointed me more. I scored 167 and have not stopped crying since I saw my results. I’m crying not because I failed but because I know how much I have prepared for the exams.

“It is devastating for me honestly, I don’t know what happened because I didn’t even find the examination tough.”

Another candidate, Andrew Bassey, said that he was traumatised after seeing his result on Saturday because he not only had difficulty registering for the examination but also got a low score after all the troubles.

Bassey said that his score would not avail him the opportunity to apply for his dream course in his dream school and he couldn’t imagine going over the process of the examinations next year.

Mr Badmus Owolabi, a parent, said that it was important for the examination body to address the situation while noting that most of the results were unfavorable for the candidates.

He said: “I have been following up on this JAMB thing because I have two candidates from my house and it is no coincidence that both of them had low marks.

“I assure you, they are both intellectually sound. It is not possible that with all the extra lessons they participated in, of which I personally supervised, they came out with such low points.

“As far as I’m concerned, this is just what JAMB chose to give them.”

Owolabi also urged the board to consider both parents and candidates’ plight in its process of examination while adding that the entire process this year was too tedious.

Another parent, Mrs Grace Moses, said that the results did not reflect the true performance of the candidates.

According to her, the board should at least review the results already released as candidates had already experienced too much hitches throughout this year’s process.

“From the registration to the point of checking, the results have been full of hitches.

“The best they can do is to ensure most candidates score highly and also gain admission. Enough of the stress,” Moses said.

However, another candidate, Millicent Andrew said that she scored an average of 187 and was happy because she was sure to make the cut off mark when decided by the board.

It was reported that over 1.3 million candidates registered for the examination which began on June 19, to end on July 3 in over 700 accredited Computer Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.

It was also reported that the board said that more results were expected to be released in subsequent days.