The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has disagreed with former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on the timing of its examination.
Naijaonpoint reports that Peter Obi had accused JAMB of making candidates to travel at vulnerable and dangerous hours so as to meet up with the timing of its examinations.
He also accused the examinations body of posting candidates to locations far flung from their areas of residence.
The former Governor of Anambra State set some students had lost their lives in avoidable accidents while trying to get to the venues of their exams.
He therefore called for an halt to what he described as unnecessary trauma for the young candidates, adding that the entire scenario reflects the systemic failure of Nigeria.
The former presidential candidate had taken to his 𝕏 account on Sunday and said: “I came across multiple reports of students being asked to attend a public examination by 6:30 AM, teenagers, mostly around 15-17 years old, forced to travel in the dark, even in the face of insecurity, across dangerous and unfamiliar locations, because they want to get the basic right of education and sit for JAMB examinations.
“Setting exams for vulnerable teenagers as early as 6:00 AM while transporting them across far-flung locations is reckless.
“Already, reports are emerging of students getting into accidents and losing their young lives, some going missing, and many more being subjected to unnecessary trauma. Who takes responsibility when a 15- or 16-year-old child disappears or is harmed while trying to access their right to education?
“This situation sadly exposes a deeper, systemic failure: Nigeria simply does not have enough universities and exam centres to cater to its youth.
Today, Nigeria has just about 200 universities for a population of over 200 million people. That alone means one university for every one million citizens, a very disturbing and staggering ratio that shows the dilapidated level of the country’s access to education.
“According to the data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and IndexMundi, countries aiming for good development, strong economies, and broad access to higher education are expected to target a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of at least 40%
And according to these statistics, Nigeria with a population of about 230 million people and about 200 universities has a GER of about 12%
“In comparison with other countries with a high population, for example, Indonesia with about 280 million people has over 4,000 tertiary institutions and stands at a ratio of about 1 university per 70,000 people and a GER of over 45%. The country has over 10 million students enrolled in tertiary education alone spanning across various ages.
“Indonesia’s substantial investment in education is evident in its university-to-population ratio, supporting its large student population. Nigeria’s GER, on the other hand, is significantly below the global average, showing the urgent need for substantial investment in education, which would, in turn, yield national growth and development.
“Indonesia, unlike Nigeria, has universities scattered across every region, making access to exams, learning, and opportunity far more democratic and safer.
“If we had even half of Indonesia’s educational infrastructure, which would be about 2,000 universities, the Nigerian child would not be forced into life-threatening journeys just to write an exam and still face challenges of university acceptance after performing well.
“Education is not a luxury or expense, It is the biggest contributor to development for any nation, and therefore most important investment any nation can do for development.
“You cannot claim to want development while starving our young the access to knowledge. You cannot claim to value your citizens while risking the lives of teenagers every examination season.
“We must aggressively and intentionally expand our education system.
“We must strive to match our population with access to education.
“Our young generation should not be endangered because they desire education. We must do better as a nation and ensure that our future leaders get the new Nigeria that they deserve.”
However, in a direct response to Obi’s query, JAMB denied starting examinations as early as 6am, clarifying that exams don’t start until 8am.
It however added that candidates have to arrive examination venues early for verification and clearance purposes so as to have enough time to settle down before actual exams begin.
“@PeterObi, Your Excellency, I must assert that our examination is scheduled to commence at 8:00am, not 6:00 am. While verification and other clearance processes begins at 6:30am , it is imperative that candidates are afforded adequate time to settle in before the exam begins,” the response from JAMB via its 𝕏 account read.
Naijaonpoint reports JAMB is currently conducting the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).