The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has responded to criticisms by Peter Obi regarding the early resumption time for its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
Obi, in a statement posted on his verified X account on Sunday, accused JAMB of compelling students to “attend a public examination by 6:30 am” at unfamiliar locations despite widespread insecurity.
The former Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party described the situation as “reckless,” citing incidents of accidents and missing candidates, and blamed it on what he called Nigeria’s inadequate investment in education.
According to Obi, setting exams for vulnerable teenagers at such early hours was endangering lives and exposing deeper systemic failures in the country’s education sector.
He said, “Setting exams for vulnerable teenagers as early as 6:00 AM while transporting them across far-flung locations is reckless.
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“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 in a brief counter-statement, JAMB debunked Obi’s claim, stating that no exams were scheduled to start at 6 am.
The body clarified that the 2025 UTME exams were scheduled to commence at 8 am, with verification and clearance processes beginning at 6:30 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 begin 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.”
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