2021 UTME: Parents, candidate decry low marks as JAMB releases results

Reactions have continued to trail the recently released result of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination ( UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Some candidates and parents who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Bwari, Abuja, expressed displeasure.

JAMB on Friday, June 25, released the first batch of results of candidates who sat for the examination between Saturday, June 19, and Tuesday, June 22.

Expressing her displeasure with her score, Oluwakemi Moses, a candidate who wanted to study medicine, said she scored 167.

She explained that it was not only too low but also below her first attempt at the examination in 2020.

“I wrote UTME last year and scored 198; that was why I sat for it again this year so that I can make at least 200 or more because I intend to apply for Medicine.

“This year just disappointed me more. I scored 167 not stopped crying since I saw my results. I’m crying not because I know how much I have prepared for the exams.

“It is devastating for me because the examination wasn’t tough.”

Another candidate, Andrew Bassey, said he was traumatised after seeing his result on Saturday because he had difficulty registering for the examination and got a low score after all the troubles.

Bassey lamented that his score would not allow him to apply for his dream course in his dream school till next year.

Mr Badmus Owolabi, a parent, urged JAMB to address the situation of low marks, noting that most of the results were unfavourable for the candidates.

He said: “I have been following up on this JAMB results because I have two candidates from my house and it is no coincidence that both of them had low marks.

“I assure you, they are both intellectually sound. It is not possible that with all the extra lessons they participated in, of which I personally supervised, they came out with such low points.

“As far as I’m concerned, this is just what JAMB chose to give them.”

Another parent, Mrs Grace Moses, said the results did not reflect the true performance of the candidates.

She called for the board to review the results released as candidates had already experienced too many troubles throughout this year’s process.

“From the registration to the point of checking, the results have been full of hitches.

“The best they can do is to ensure most candidates score highly and also gain admission. Enough of the stress,” Moses added.

Meanwhile, JAMB says more results were expected to be released in subsequent days.

“The best they can do is to ensure most candidates score highly and also gain admission. Enough of the stress,” Moses said.