TELL Magazine

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About 3,500 candidates who sat for the University of Benin, UNIBEN Post-UTME on Tuesday December 8 may be in a quandary following the announcement by the authority of the institution that its server had collapsed and the affected candidates would have to return to retake the test.

With this development, the chances of their gaining admission into the university of their first choice may be jeopardized.

The university, in a terse short messaging service, SMS, sent out on Wednesday afternoon, directed the affected candidates, who came from all parts of the country to write the examination, to return to the university for another test.

“If you know anyone that wrote post utme exam today 8th December 2020 @ict hall UGBOWO, tell the person to come back from any state or city he or she is. UNIBEN server failed for applicants that wrote 9am &10.30am. Authority have tried their best to call some students but their phone off. Tell ur love ones…”, the message on the university’s SMS platform read.

An angry parent told the magazine that “Can you imagine how callous these people are? You are asking the candidates whose poor parents managed to find their trips to Benin to return and retake the exam. Who bears the cost? Why should the children and their parents be made to bear the brunt of what is essentially the univetsity’s problem? This is most unfair.”.

Another source in the university community lamented that “This is a major crisis. How do you get all the affected candidates to come back? What about those who came from far North and other states to write the test? I wonder why the university management is acting as if the University of Benin is meant only for Benin City. If you ask the candidates to come back, who pays for it? How do you handle the risks of travelling?”,.

The source suggested that the university authorities should find a means of ” using the UME scores of the affected candidates and their SSCE results to get cumulative scores for the candidates. This is a university environment and we should be able to think outside the box”.

Meanwhile, the University of Benin is presently in complete blackout following a feud between the university and youths in the host community who cut off the source of electricity supply to the institution.

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening signed by Dr. Benedicta Ehanire, the public relations officer, the university however claimed that the power outage was as a result of the crisis in the neighbouring community of Ihovbor, where some restive youths cut off the source of electricity.

“This is to inform members of the university of Benin Community that the present power outage on Campus is as a result of a Community unrest at Ihovbor, the main source of power supply to the University. (The Community youths have forced power outage due to a Community clash). It is hoped that normalcy would be restored soonest. Inconveniences are regretted”, the statement read.

Recall that for several weeks, UNIBEN had been without electricity due to a major fault in the Grid supplying the university.

Electricity was however, restored last week before the restive youths cut it off again.

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