By Israel Aderemi,Paul Okaro &Daniel Oladele

Candidates for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organised by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) have lamented difficulty in getting registered for the examination despite February 14 deadline.

Some of the candidates, who spoke with The Hope, expressed frustration over inability to get a nearby registration centre and poor network service during registration, especially getting their National Identification Number (NIN) linked with their application.

The Hope observed that some of the students trooped to JAMB offices to get the registration done.

The Hope earlier reported that JAMB has reduced the number of computer-based centres across the country for reasons such as poor facilities, not complying with the guidelines of the Board, and involvement in examination malpractice among others.

One of the candidates, Mayegun Ayomide told The Hope that, “the challenge is that the registration centres are too far and most of the time, the centres are filled with people and the service is not very good”.

Another candidate, Adedayo Ifeoluwa, said registration has been very stressful and service has also been poor.

Other candidates, Victor, Rebecca and Samuel Alabi also complained of difficulty in getting registration done before the deadline.

“I am 90 percent ready for the examination. My challenge about the exam is that the processes are too stressful”, said Samuel Alabi.

One of the operators of JAMB CB registration centres in Akure, Lekan Ade told The Hope that there has been an increase in the number of candidates to attend to daily due to closure of some centres.

Recall, the Association of Tutorial School Operators had predicted that the 2023 UTME would be tough for candidates as a result of the reduction in the number of CBT centres.