The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has replied to Labour Party’s former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, after he criticised the early exam schedule for this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.
Obi, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, complained that many candidates, mostly teenagers, were made to leave their homes very early, by 6:30 am, to reach their exam centres. He said this was dangerous, especially with the security problems in the country.
Calling the situation “reckless,” Obi said, “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?”
He blamed the situation on what he described as Nigeria’s poor investment in the education sector and called for urgent improvements. Obi compared Nigeria’s education system to Indonesia’s and said more universities and exam centres would make exams safer and easier for students.
Reacting to Obi’s concerns, JAMB explained that the exam itself starts at 8:00 am, not 6:00 am. However, candidates are told to come by 6:30 am to allow enough time for verification and clearance before the exams begin.
Posting on its official X account, JAMB said, “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 begin at 6:30am, it is imperative that candidates are afforded adequate time to settle in before the exam begins.”
JAMB added, “Given the tendencies often observed among Nigerians to arrive late when a start time is set without space for eventuality, this structured timeline is essential to ensure that all candidates are properly prepared and can perform to the best of their abilities.”
Meanwhile, some parents have also raised complaints, saying the early timing forces children to travel unsafe distances at risky hours.
The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, also condemned the early exam schedule. In a statement signed by the National President, Comrade Olushola Oladoja, and the National Public Relations Officer, Comrade Samson Ajasa Adeyemi, they said, “It is deeply troubling that students are expected to commute to examination centres in the early hours of the morning, often navigating unsafe routes and facing transportation difficulties.”
They added that the practice was dangerous, especially given the country’s current security challenges.
Also speaking out, Nigerian influencer and media personality, Enioluwa Adeoluwa, criticised the exam body’s schedule. He said on social media, “My major problem with Nigeria is our anyhowness, and it has creeped so much into the system that you find a person doing a certain thing, and you ask them why are they doing it, and they have no logical reasoning for doing it. I heard that one of the national exams in the country that is written by secondary school students was placed for 6:30 am.”
