A total of 160,617 candidates have written the 2021 mock Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which took place on Thursday in 777 centres across the country.
The examination, which is aimed at preparing candidates for the actual UTME, due to take place between June 19 and July 3, 2021, was administered by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in all centres nationwide.
JAMB’s Head of Media and Protocol, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, told reporters at the end of the exercise in Abuja that the essence of the mock exam was to test the capacity and suitability of the centres.
He added that the exercise conducted nationwide was hitch-free, except in Dominion International School, Jabi, Abuja where the centre was gutted by fire and candidates were redirected to other centres.
“We have over 160,617 candidates sitting for this mock examinations in all our CBT centres. We received report of complaint of capacity and stability from one or two centres.
“Like in Abuja, there is a centre — Dominion International School, Jabi — that caught fire during the examinations but everything has been put under control,” he said.
According to Fabian, JAMB is adequately prepared for the main UTME, which is due to take place between June 19 and July 3, 2021, proven by the success of the mock exam.
“The exams are going on well and with what we have now, it shows we are good to go for the main examinations coming up June 19,” he said.
Earlier, a JAMB Technical Officer, who monitored the exercise at the Global Distance Learning Institute in Central Area, Abuja, Mrs Oluwaseun Omotosho, said 200 candidates registered for the exercise but only 125 sat for the exam.
Omotosho noted that the centre, which has four examination halls, recorded no incidents as everything went smoothly.
One of the candidates, who spoke with THISDAY, Adelina Etete, said the mock examination has motivated her to study more and adequately prepare for the main UTME.
Etete, who gave a lot of credit to the centre managers for the hitch-free conduct of the exercise, however said that the exam was not easy but for some topic she was familiar with.
Another candidate, Fahd Isah, noted that the exam provided a firsthand experience of how the main exam would look like.
Isah however called on JAMB authorities to provide pens and papers for candidates writing subjects involving calculation.
