60,000 candidates Sat for Unilorin Post-UTME screening Exercise

As the post-UTME screening for the 2015/2016 admission exercise of the University of Ilorin commences today (Monday, August 17, 2015), no fewer than 60, 000 candidates are expected to take part in the week-long exercise.

The figure, obtained from the Computer Services and Information Technology Directorate (COMSIT) on Saturday (August 15, 2015), represents 82 per cent of the 73,250 candidates that scored a minimum of 180 marks in the 2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and made the University of Ilorin their first choice.

The screening, which will be by Computer-Based Test (CBT), will take place in two centres – Ilorin and Lagos- from today to next Monday (August 24, 2015).

The Director of the Computer Services and Information Technology (COMSIT) Directorate, Prof. Musa Isiyaku Ahmed,  told Unilorin Bulletin that “as at 12:00 noon (on Saturday), 60,079 students who scored over 180 marks in the recently completed Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, and made the University of Ilorin their first choice as well as having at least five 'O'/Level credits, have registered for the scheduled pre-admission screening test without a single complaint”.

The Director explained that long before the registration commenced, the COMSIT had discussed with those managing the University servers and “alerted them that soon, we will be expecting over 100,000 additional concurrent users to access our website for registration exercise for pre-admission screening”, adding, “We thank God that periodic reports we get and what our server managers monitor and release to us have been very satisfactory with no single complaint or query even from our help desk”.

Prof. Ahmed further said, “This year, the University approved a proposal to minimise changing of courses prior to writing the post-UTME test and selected 21 courses and programmes where these changes will not be allowed till after the release of the post-UTME results. This allows  us to manage our data better and focus on the core issue of concluding screening examination timely from the portal. So in these courses, students will stick to what they picked at JAMB till post-UTME results are out”.

The Director disclosed that more than 53 resource persons including the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof (Mrs.) N. Y. S. Ijaiya; the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research Technology and Innovation), Prof. Gabriel Olatunji; the Computer-Based Test Senate Committee Chairman, Prof. E. O. Odebunmi; the Senate Admission Committee Chairman, Prof. A. Sani; the Director of Academic Planning, Prof. A. S. Kuranga and Prof. Y. A. Quadri, among several others, have been deployed to the two Centres where the screening test will be conducted.

“We have five invigilators at each hall within each examination venue. An accreditation team of four people per centre interface with the students and intimate them on rules and regulations guiding the screening exercise. Another team of technicians are in place to ensure that the air conditioning systems and generating sets are working perfectly throughout the duration of the examination. And of course, we have security personnel too”, he said.

On the medical arrangements put in place for the exercise, Prof. Ahmed said, “We do not have the right to treat prospective students since they are not yet our students. However, we have a team of nurses on standby to attend to any emergencies”.

He counseled prospective students to bring with them printed copies of their examination schedules, which indicate that they are slated to write the examination at a particular date and time since even within a day, there are several batches. “Also, payment receipts generated from the students' portal section of the University website should be made available as the accreditation team will insist on identity verification through possession of pictures that tally with the face of each candidate”, he said.

Registration for the pre-admission screening exercise commenced on August 4, 2015 and ended on Sunday, August 16, 2015.

In a related development, the Registrar, Mr. E. D. Obafemi, through a release entitled “2015/2016 Session Pre-Admission Screening Exercise”, posted on the University website, www.unilorin.edu.ng, advised candidates for the pre-admission screening exercise to visit the university website directly and avoid using search engines to reach the university website because such approach may lead them to fake web pages claiming to be authentic Unilorin website.

While directing prospective students to seek enquiries through pre-admission2015@unilorin.edu.ng, the Registrar disclosed that details on the step-by-step registration procedure are available on the university website.

He called attention to what the screening exercise will entail, stressing that candidates with indecent dressing will not be allowed into the screening premises and that phones and other forms of electronic communication gadgets and devices, bags and luggage will not be allowed at the screening points. “Only registered candidates for the screening will be allowed into the screening premises”, Mr. Obafemi further said.