Delay in Release of UTME Results Trigger Mixed Reactions Among Educators

Some experts in the education sector on Monday in Ibadan expressed divergent opinions on the continued delay in the release of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results.

Journalists report that while some respondents want the examination body, JAMB, to release the results promptly, others called for patients to ensure a quality outcome.

Prof. Clement Kolawole, a lecturer at the Department of Education, University of Ibadan, appealed to JAMB to release results that were ready and withhold those that have issues. “It is so unfortunate that several days after JAMB conducted entrance examination into universities, results are not released for whatever reason. “It is simply unacceptable for whatever reason. Whoever is supervising JAMB should call the agency to order. “But I am not sure it is part of the duty and rights of JAMB to sit on students results indefinitely under whatever guise. “If some people do not deserve to have resulted, such should be withheld for further investigation, that is the normal standard practice anywhere in the world,” he said.

Kolawole urged JAMB to speak out if there was any problem the agency was trying to cope with so that education experts could offer suggestions that would be of help.

Prof.Femi Akinwumi, another education expert at the University of Ibadan, urged Nigerians to be patient and allow JAMB to release quality results. “It is because it is a computer-based test that people are clamouring for the release of results unlike when it was a paper-based test; results are released much later those days. “Let JAMB correct all the anomalies because some people are desperate to sabotage good processes. “It is about quality of results not that it will be released now and later withdrawn,” Akinwumi said.

Also speaking, Prof. Adams Onuka, an education evaluation expert at the University of Ibadan, urged Nigerians to give JAMB the benefit of the doubt and allow it to correct the misnomer in the system. “I believe JAMB wants to rectify the various issues that surfaced during the conduct of the examination. “It is better not to release results than to cancel them. “One problem with this country is that we are quick to pass judgment when we don’t know what goes on behind. “I have always said that computer-based test is not the solution to exam malpractice as people can hack into any server thereby jeopardising the system,” Onuka said.