Some intending candidates for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Abule Egba, Lagos State, spent up to six hours on Monday attempting to complete their registration.

The UTME is conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The registration, originally scheduled to begin on January 31, was postponed by JAMB to February 5 and will end on March 5.

Despite arriving early at the Perfect Angel Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Centre in Abule Egba, many candidates, including Miss Success Enonfu and her twin sister, were unable to complete their registration after waiting for hours.

“We have been here since morning. We filled out the forms and waited for our turn, but the system was very slow. In the end, we were asked to return tomorrow,” Enonfu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

“This is our third attempt at UTME registration. The previous ones were faster, taking less than an hour. Unfortunately, we didn’t cross the cut-off marks then.”

Miss Favour Adenle, another candidate, expressed her frustration, saying she had initially visited the centre on Friday, unaware that the registration had been postponed.

“Many of us came on Friday only to be told that the registration had been shifted to Monday,” she said.

“JAMB has been considerate in setting the registration fee, but they need to ensure a smoother process.”

Similarly, Mr. Emmanuel Owobu, who had written UTME twice before, lamented the delays. He admitted that he had initially given up on further education due to past setbacks but was urged by his parents to make another attempt.

“I didn’t want to try again, but my parents insisted. Now, I’ve been sitting here for hours without progress,” he said.

Explaining the delays, Mr. Olaoluwa Adefamoye, the manager of the CBT centre, stated that the registration system was only accepting iPhone scanners, which significantly slowed down the process.

“The issue is that the system is restricted to iPhone scanners, which has reduced efficiency,” Adefamoye said.

“We have ten system operators ready to register candidates, but this technical challenge is hindering us. We currently have about 80 candidates on the ground, and we’ve only managed to register a few. This problem isn’t unique to our centre.”

He appealed to JAMB to allow the registration system to accept scanners from other devices to speed up the process.

NAN reports that JAMB approved 870 CBT centres for the 2025 UTME, an increase from the 747 centres used in 2024. The examination is scheduled to commence on March 8, with a mock UTME slated for February 23.

The 2025 UTME registration costs N7,200. Candidates opting for the mock examination will pay N8,200, while direct entry candidates are required to pay N5,700.

JAMB also introduced a UTME Mock Trial for candidates below the age of 16 who wish to familiarize themselves with the CBT process before taking the actual UTME. The initiative aims to better prepare young candidates ahead of future examinations.