Nigerians lament UTME candidates’ ordeals getting to exam centres

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) exam, which is an important determinant for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria, has once again exposed the structural challenges faced by Nigerian youths.

A concerned Nigerian business consultant and marketing guru, Emeka Nobis,who sponsored the JAMB form for a young girl has expressed his frustration over the difficulties faced by young Nigerians in accessing education.

According to the don, the young girl was scheduled to write her JAMB exam at a centre along Owerri-Onitsha Road, but due to the distance from her home in Mbaise, she would have had to leave as early as 4:30 AM to arrive on time.

The lack of reliable and affordable transportation services in the area means that young people often have to resort to expensive options such as booking a hotel near the exam center.

This situation is further compounded by the security challenges faced by Nigerians, with movements restricted in some areas until 6 AM due to safety concerns.

The marketing expert went on to suggest that JAMB has outlived its usefulness and that universities should be solely responsible for conducting their own entrance exams. He argued that JAMB could be remodeled to perform supervisory roles and maintain a uniform calendar for all schools.

This frustration is shared by many Nigerians who feel that the government has failed in its duty to provide a conducive environment for education. The challenges faced by Nigerian youths in accessing education are further compounded by the high cost of living, inadequate infrastructure, and insecurity.

Many have called for urgent action by the government to address these challenges and provide a better future for the country’s youths. In the meantime, Nigerian youths continue to face an uphill battle in their quest for education, with the JAMB exam serving as a reminder of the structural inequalities they face.

I paid for the JAMB form for a young girl that I’ll love for her to go to university – Emeka Nobis writes on Facebook

Yesterday, the young girl called me to me tell me that her exam was fixed for 6:30 AM today. She lives in Mbaise and her center is along Owerri-Onitsha Road. She told me wouldn’t be able to make it by that time. From Mbaise to that place is about an hour or more. It means she has to leave her home at 4:30, get to the car park and leave at 5 AM if she has to get there. However, local parks in Mbaise don’t open till about 6 or 7.

Alternative? Book a hotel near the venue and make sure to leave on time. She was asking me to support her with money to be able to achieve the goal.

Some of these young lads don’t have parents who can drive them in their cars. Some of them can’t afford to book hotels.

Yesterday made me remember how one of our staff at Saipem back then was stabbed to death early in the morning on his way to work because the assailants rushed and stabbed him, thinking his bag at the back contained a laptop, but it was his food flask.

We are talking about 15 to 17-year-old teenagers. How can these ones be leaving home as early as 5 AM to reach their examination centers? In many areas in our cities, movements start around 6 AM because of security. As guarded as my area is, I’m afraid anytime I have to leave for the airport early in the morning.

You see how the structure is shambolic, the government establishments headed by humans without brains and hearts, who can’t effectively design how these things can be done effectively.

But then, I think JAMB exam has lots its neediness. It has outlived its usefulness.

Universities – private and public – should be vested solely with the responsibility to conduct entrance into their university. JAMB can either be scrapped or remodelled to perform supervisory roles and maintain stickiness to a uniform calendar for all schools.

Must things must be hard in this nation to get results?

To get visa, you sleep at the embassy.
To get your passport, it is war.
To write common entrance, it is war.
To write JAMB to school, it is war.
To run a business, you struggle.

Everything seems to be designed to fuck our entire brains out.

Look at all the stress they took us through for more than 3 months in the name of naira design. And yet, we are back to the same point where we started.

My anger is more at some of us voting the same hooligans into power. All the people who are voting these people dealing with our collective existence deserve a special place in hell, I swear.

I’m sorry that I may not subject my own kids to this terrible situation. I’ve set up policies for them to school outside this nation. I visited Ghana and you should see the awesomeness of their education system.

My own kids won’t pass this stress. Naaa. They won’t. They receive education, grow their skills and build a better life for themselves.

Aren’t we fucking tired? Because I am, seriously.

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