28,069 Results pending as JAMB releases UTME 2011 Results

Barely six days after management of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) conducted the 2011 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Nigeria and six other foreign countries, it has released theresult to the public. The release of the results was made public on Friday, in Abuja by Dibu Ojerinde, Registrar and Chief Executive of JAMB at the headquarters of the National Universities Commission (NUC). However the conduct of the examination received criticisms from a cross section of Nigerians for beginning on a bumpy note last Saturday, as a result of the biometric technology introduced into the conduct of the examination for the first time. About 28,069 results are currently pending and to undergo further investigation by the board before their release, in an examination sat for by a total of 1,493,604 candidates. He said despite merger of the entrance examinations to become the UTME in 2010, a purpose meant to create more access to tertiary education, JAMB’s study showed a general preference for University education than other tertiary based institutions. Ojerinde said University of Lagos had the highest application of 99,195 candidates but it could only admit 9,507 candidates, closely followed by Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria which had 89,760 applications. He gave a break downof this year’s UTME scores, saying, 102,069 candidates scored above 250 while 2,892 candidates scored 300 and above. Those who scored between 200 and 249 stood at 485,426 candidates while those between 270 and 299 also stood at 31,444. The registrar who said the board would re-strategize on the use of the biometric data capturing technology in future examination debunked insinuations by the media that the biometric concept was unsuccessful. He said: “Biometric thumb printing and capturing device which was introduced in this year’s UTME has been a subject of wide discourse, some positive, while others negative. “However, to us in JAMB, it has recorded more successes than draw backs, for instance, the system in many centres ensured candidates were orderly and peaceful.”
JAMB also disclosed that candidates need not purchase another scratch card to check their results, rather they should use the same card used for applying for the examination to check their scores.