OGBOMOSO: JAARC hosts first UTME, as parents, candidates hail successful conduct, avoidance of traumatic travels

OGBOMOSO: JAARC hosts first UTME, as parents, candidates hail successful conduct, avoidance of traumatic travels

Yinka ADETUNJI

Many candidates, parents and guardians have expressed gratitude to the proprietors of the Jacob Adebayo Afolayanka Resource Centre (JAARC), a newly established CBT centre in Ogbomoso, Oyo state, over the successful conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which began nationwide last Thursday.

At JAARC

JAARC, founded by the CEO of Zoe Schools, Rev’d (Dr) Niyi Adebayo, and his wife, Pastor Grace Adebayo, and commissioned last year, is the first privately owned CBT centre in Ogbomoso, approved by JAMB and other examination bodies. Its capacity is over 600, far above the 250 minimum capacity by JAMB.

Previously, students in Ogbomoso traveled to neigbouring cities like Ilorin, Okeho, Igboho, Oyo among others to write UTME because the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) CBT Centre is inadequate for the large number of candidates applying for tertiary institutions’ admissions yearly, hence, candidates were made to write the exam outside Ogbomoso. This proved dangerous as some unfortunately met with road carnage. Thus, the debut of JAARC is a big relief.

“I thank Rev’d Niyi Adebayo for conceiving this idea of a CBT Centre in Ogbomoso which got JAMB approval. It is a big relief,” a parent Mr. Adesina Adekunle, whose daughter wrote the UTME at JAARC told ogbomosoinsightonline.com. “My children in the past travelled outside Ogbomoso to sit for the exam. You can imagine the fear one would entertain as parents in this time of kidnapping. There is also always the danger of accident considering our bad roads and most times they had to go and sleep overnight especially if you had to write the exam at a far place like Okeho. It was tedious and expensive. Zoe has brought relief to us, we thank them.”

Other parents, guardians and students echoed similar sentiment, all expressing appreciation to the management of JAARC.

The exam monitored at the centre by Ogbomoso Insight unfolded under a peaceful and serene atmosphere, and the conduct was efficient, without glitches or hitches.