Some candidates, who took the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, have carpeted the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board for the alleged lapses in the conduct of this year’s exam as well as the results.

JAMB conducted the 2019 UTME between April 11 and 18 in about 698 Computer-Based Test centres, with 1.8million candidates sitting the exam.

The results were released on May 11.

But many candidates have yet to receive their results due to some reasons such as, biometric issues, allegations of impersonation and other infractions.

One of the candidates,  Haruna Musa, who spoke with our correspondent on Friday, said her computer suddenly turned off during the exam and that she got 19 in a paper she did not take.

She said, “We were supposed to start the exam by 7am on April 11. But we couldn’t log into the system. By that time we were able to, it was already 9am.

“I was dealing with Chemistry, which was the third paper at my centre in Solid Model School, Maitama, when suddenly the computers in the hall turned off.

“A man there asked us to write our names and phone numbers, saying they might reschedule the exam for us.

“There was one of us who started only English before the computers went off. The people at the centre used some policemen to chase us away.

“When the results came out, I discovered that I scored 19 in Physics that I did not touch.

“This looks like JAMB has manipulated my results. I didn’t do Physics. Where did the result come from?”

Another candidate, Maryam Bitrus, said she was not able to do her biometric verification because the machines brought by JAMB failed and that the body didn’t send her a text message as promised.

Bitrus said, “On April 11, I went to Bingham University, Nasarawa State, to take the exam.  I was told that they needed my thumbprint before entering the hall. I complied, but my information did not appear. But that was where I did my registration. Several times I tried, but my thumbprint did not work.

“I went to JAMB head office on that same day, where I waited for over five hours.

“We all went into the registrar’s office and all of us spoke about our issues. The registrar said we should file written complaints.

“We were asked to include our phone numbers and emails that they would get back to us. I said when? He said there was nothing they could do.”

Yet another teenager, Amida Habeeb, said she sat the exam but had yet to receive her result.

Spokesman for   JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said the board would embark on physical verification of cases still in doubt and would then release results of those found not culpable.

He said, “At the conference for the release of results in May, the registrar made it abundantly clear that there were certain results we could not establish clearly, whether the candidates were culpable or not. He said those results would be further screened to establish their culpability or not. These results are different from the ones already established for examination malpractices and their results have been withheld.

“Some of these candidates were asked to upload further documents for verification. From next week, we will be doing physical verification and we will ask them to come so that we can ascertain that there was no case of impersonation or double registration. As soon as we finish what we are doing, we will release the results.

“For candidates whose computers went off, they had taken their exams. They were the 490 we invited about two weeks ago.”