The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has addressed concerns raised by Peter Obi, a former Labour Party presidential candidate, regarding the early start time of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
In a Sunday post on X, Obi criticised allegations that candidates—mostly teenagers—were being urged to arrive at testing locations as early as 6:30 am in spite of security concerns.
Citing examples of accidents and missing candidates, he characterised the situation as “reckless” and attributed it on what he characterised as Nigeria’s insufficient investment in education.
Obi claimed that administering tests to susceptible teens at such early hours was putting lives at jeopardy and revealing more serious structural flaws in the nation’s educational system.
He 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?”
Reacting on Sunday, JAMB clarified that while candidates are expected to arrive by 6:30 am for verification and clearance, the examinations officially begin at 8:00 am.
The board explained that the early arrival was necessary to prevent late-coming, which could disrupt the exercise.
In a post on its official X account, JAMB wrote, “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 statement 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.”