The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reacted to Peter Obi’s claim that the exam body forced admission-seeking teenagers to travel in the dark to write exams.
In a statement posted via his verified X account on Sunday, Obi accused JAMB of forcing the students to “attend a public examination by 6:30” at unfamiliar locations “in the face of insecurity” in the country.
Read Also: Don’t Blame Me For Your Incompetence – Tinubu To Opposition
Describing this as ‘reckless’, the former Governor of Anambra State said some of the students have been reported missing, others involved in accidents and “many more being subjected to unnecessary trauma.”
Obi wrote, “I came across multiple reports of students being asked to attend a public examination by 6:30 am. Teenagers, mostly around 15–17 years old, were forced to travel in the dark, even in the face of insecurity, across dangerous and unfamiliar locations because they wanted to get the basic right of education and sit for JAMB examinations.
“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?”
The ex-governor slammed the exam body and the government, saying the situation exposed a deeper, systemic failure.
Reacting, JAMB, in a terse counter-s
The exam body explained that the 2025 UTME exams were scheduled to start at 8 am rather than 6 am, noting that “verification and other clearance processes begin at 6:30 am.”
According to JAMB, starting the verification process at 6 am was intended to ensure that “all candidates are properly prepared” before the examination starts at 8 am.
“I must assert that our examination is scheduled to commence at 8:00 am, not 6:00 am. While verification and other clearance processes begin at 6:30 am, it is imperative that candidates are afforded adequate time to settle in before the exam begins.
“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,” JAMB replied.
However, many Nigerians have faulted the exam body’s response as many questioned the need to ask teenagers to resume at exam centres at 6 am.
Statement, debunked Obi’s claim, saying no exams were scheduled to start at 6 am.
