ABUJA–A total of 1,338,687 candidates who successfully registered the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board,JAMB’s 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, Saturday, started the examination across the country.

The exercise being conducted by the nation’s tertiary institutions admission body is holding in various JAMB’S approved Computer Based Test,CBT centres across Nigeria.

The examination which began around at 9:30am in most centres in the Federal Capital Territory,Abuja,went on well without hitches as some candidates who write in the first batch of the examination, expressed happiness that they encountered little or no difficulty during the exercise.

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They, however,said they could not finish answering all the questions within the time limit.

A candidate, Mercy Adinya,who sat for her UTME,who wrote at City Stars College,in Karu area of the FCT, expressed satisfaction with the arrangements for the examination, expressing hope that she would score high mark.

“I don’t the arrangements in other places but JAMB tried here in our centre. I wrote end ended up successfully without any problem and given what I put down,I know that by the grace of God,I would have good score”,she said.

Another candidate, John Anyibi,who said it was her third time of writing the examination in a row,commended the examination body for the preparedness.

“Unlike last year that the computer system assigned to me gave me serious problem by shutting down intermittently due to what I didn’t really understood from their explanation, resulting in the low score I had as I was unable to finish all my questions,this year’s arrangements in my center worked well for me”,she said.

But another one,Faith Joshua,said she was unable to finish answering her questions before her time was up.

“I did not finish answering all my questions but I’m sure of the questions I treated,”she told Vanguard.

A parent who identified himself as Sunday Peters, expressed satisfaction with the arrangements put in place for the exercise.

He said the arrangements made by JAMB, leading to hitch-free examination was an indication that the examination body had significantly improved.

“I’m used to coming to wait like this.In 2019 and last year, my children participated. I was here. Although,to the glory of God, they both secured admissions to their preferred universities,but the arrangements were not as good as this year’s”,he said.

Also at Digital Bridge Institute,DBI Jabi and Global Distance Learning Centre,at Central Area, Abuja, the exercise was smooth.

Meanwhile,the various examination centres visited were crowded by parents and guardians who thronged the venues as their wards engaged in the exercise.

Also,food vendors took advantage of the day to make brisk business.

Those who accompanied their wards to the examination centres had no permanent places to sit, thereby making them to walk from one point to the other even as others sit inside their packed cars.

Recall that over 1.3 million candidates successfully registered for the 2022 UTME, while over 75, 000 registered for Direct Entry.

Recall also that JAMB had slated three batches for the examination.

No case of malpractice had so far been announced by the board at the time of filing this report.