Release results of innocent UTME candidates, NUT tells JAMB

The chairman of the National Union of Teachers has urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to release the results of candidates who were not involved in examination malpractices during the 2019 UTME.

NUT chairman for Lagos State wing, Mr. Adesina Adedoyin, made the appeal on Tuesday in Lagos in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.

The union said the results’ release should be for candidates who wrote the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations and were found to be innocent.

He said that the examination body should sieve the chaff from the grain as quickly as possible.

Adedoyin said the level of malpractice in the conduct of the 2019 UTME was as a result of the societal problems confronting the country, which includes corruption.

“The delay in releasing the results is going to affect the innocent students negatively.

“Those that did not cheat during the examinations should not be punished for the offences they did not commit.

“By the time JAMB will ask them to come and re-write the examination, they may not perform better as they did earlier,” he said.

He also alleged that those who supervised and those who conducted the examinations were part of the problem.

The NUT chairman wondered why they could not apprehend those who cheated while the examinations were ongoing.

According to him, malpractice cannot be done without any inducement.

Adedoyin also said that some parents would always do anything to make sure that their children passed any examinations.

“To those who offered inducements then, it was a bad act; and to those who received, it was also a very bad act.

“They are parts of those creating problems for our system because they are part of the Nigeria society,” he said.

Adedoyin also faulted JAMB’s policy and guidelines which stated that if the number of candidates that cheated in an examination was more than the number of candidates that failed, then the examination should be cancelled.

He also condemned the policy that stated that another examination should be conducted in such a centre.

The NUT chairman said that such a policy was anti-people and should be abolished.

“Unfortunately, there is nothing anybody can do since it is JAMB’s policy, but I must say that the policy is anti-people.

“The examination body should have sieved the chaff from the grain. It should have identified the culprits and bring them to book.’’

Adedoyin said that if those found wanting would be allowed to rewrite the examinations, then the results of candidates who were innocent should be released.

The NUT chairman said that the adoption of Computer Based Testing mode by JAMB had not assisted in reducing cheating during its examinations.

He said that the mode which was introduced with the aim of reducing cheating and examination malpractices among candidates appeared to be failing and not so effective.

He said that meant that the examinations conducted using CBT were flawed in validity and reliability.

“The incident with the 2019 UTME implies that the validity and reliability of that examination must be put to test.

“If there was cheating as being alleged in the last UTME examination that adopted the CBT mode, despite the cameras and the software JAMB installed, then people will gradually be losing confidence in its efficiency,” he said.

(NAN)