The Universities Matriculation Examination, UME was introduced in the country’s education system with the establishment of JAMB in 1978. The body has since been the nation’s official entrance examination board for candidates seeking admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the country.
Established during the military era, the then seven varsities in the country before its existence had conducted ‘concessional’ entrance examinations for their prospective students. Those examinations were characterised by challenges of both multiple applications and admissions, among others.
The committee of Vice-Chancellors was worried by the overwhelming untidiness and lack of coordination in the process. Such problems became more pronounced with the establishment of additional six universities in 1976 by the federal military government, under the headship of General Olusegun Obasanjo. A national committee on universities entrance was set up, under the chairmanship of Mr. M. S. Angulu which gave birth to JAMB in 1977, with its confirmation by Decree No. 2 of 1978.
To further strengthen admissions into tertiary institutions of learning in the country, the Monotechnics, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Matriculation Examination (MPCEME), was introduced in 1989 while the present harmonised version of the examinations, the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, became operation in April 2010.
Until last year, all JAMB examinations had been Paper Pencil-based. But, according to the Registrar of the Board, Prof Dibu Ojerinde, government considered the growing global technological advancement and the need to eliminate logistic and other challenges inherent in the examination by introducing the CBT, which puts a stop to the hitherto the PPT, and it is expected to be fully operational by 2015.
Ojerinde while defending the CBT said the new system had put the Board in a better pedestrian to administer the test, adding that though the experience had not been without challenges, that they are poised to confront the problems head-on and convert such to opportunities.
Speaking further, Ojerinde said that the Board had as at last year about 55 centres with only about 100,000 candidates for the CBT. He said the exercise was held this year in about 163 centres with over 600,000 candidates across the nation. A total of 1,632,173 sat for the 2014 UTME exercise. 83 per cent of the candidates who wrote the exams scored below 200, with candidates who sat for the CBT having higher scores than those who wrote the DBT and PPT.
Ojerinde pointed out that, “the wind of change is on” and that Nigeria being a leading country in Africa could not be left out.
He maintained that other African countries like Tanzania had partnered with JAMB on Item Response Theory, IRT, training and studying the JAMB experience for their country’s adoption and trials for the CBT.
“The CBT was introduced by JAMB in its determination to sanitise the sector and curb hydra-dreaded monsters such as examination malpractice, result blackout or incomplete results and other unethical behaviours capable of undermining the PPT hitherto conducted by the board. “The paperless test also enhances prompt release of raw score, greater standardisation of test administration. It is more reliable, flexible, simple to administer and eliminates high cost of logistics and hectic planning for the examination,” Ojerinde stressed.
The 2014 edition of the CBT conducted by JAMB took place in about 163 centres in the country and abroad. Over 600,000 candidates took part in the examination. It aloso took place in six foreign countries, namely Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin Republic and Cameroun between Saturday 17 and Saturday, May 31.
Ojerinde emphasised that the CBT remained the best mode, as it provided better platform for the candidates to articulate their educational pursuit, eliminate result blackout or incomplete results and eradicate examination malpractices and enhance prompt release of scores two hours after the examination, among other benefits too numerous to mention.
Computer-based tests were introduced in 2012 while the maiden edition was conducted in the board’s 2013 UTME alongside with other two mode, namely the Paper Pencil Test and Dual- Based Test.
JAMB had said that it would phase out PPT effective 2015. The board which conducted its 2014 examination in three modes, namely PPT, CBT and Dual-Based Test, DBT reasoned that the CBT was more cost-effective and ‘promoted transparency’.
Ojerinde argued that the distribution of examination questions and answer sheets to various states in the federation had been very challenging.
He added: “We are not going back to PPT anymore; this is the end to PPT in the country, It was full of fraud, malpractice, logistic problems and insecurity. We do not want to go back to the past. We now have a solution with the introduction of CBT; we are forging ahead with it.”
According to him, over 98 vehicles were being used by the board to distribute examination materials to the various centres in the country. Despite that, he said, it did not guarantee the security of the materials.
In preparation for the full take-off, he stated that there were over 156 CBT centres nationwide, including 10 that were built by the board.
While lauding the development, Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, urged other public examination bodies to follow the precedence being laid by JAMB “in order to synergise the administration of public examination in Nigeria”.
The minister also pledged the Federal Government’s support to complement the existing centres; adding that government intended to review the educational curriculum so as to produce graduates that could create jobs and add value to the nation’s economy.
“The JAMB experience is already a model in Africa and has become a national pride which can proudly be showcased to the world. It is therefore incumbent that the board should do everything possible to maintain the standard already set with the introduction of CBT in large scale assessment,” the minister urged.
Despite the assurance by JAMB and the Federal Government, students, parents, and stakeholders have divergent views on the CBT. Some have cried out that that the country was not ripe for CBT since most candidates did not have adequate knowledge of Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Managing Director of Temple Properties Limited, Lagos, Lanre Otusanya, in a chat with Sunday Mirror said, “I’ve two sons in the university and one will be doing UTME next year. As a parent, let me state that there is a need for Ojerinde and his men to see reason and allow the candidates to settle for the system of their choice. Out of the 1.7 million candidates who sat for the 2013 UTME, only a miserable 500,000 places were available for them, leaving about 1.2 million candidates stranded. To further rub salt into the wound, even the students who scaled JAMB’s hurdle were confronted by yet another problem when the universities were closed down owing to the industrial action embarked upon by lecturers in public universities nationwide. They only had a rethink in January this year after keeping the classrooms under lock and key for an upward of six months.
“The 2014 UTME despite all entreaties to make JAMB to accommodate the pencil shading system, preferred by some candidates fell on deaf ears. This obstinacy created panic and generated much furore among students and parents, who believed that the policies adopted by the body to address problems associated with the examination, was rather frustrating.
“Of greater concern is the difficulty in accessing centres through JAMB portal, especially for those who have opted for the paper and pencil system. The centres are not just there. When they are available at all, they are located in far-flung destinations. For instance, the other day, my friends complained bitterly that the only centre available for his son is in Kaduna. Yet, another complained that her child’s centre is located somewhere in Delta State. If I may ask, how would somebody who has lived all his life in Lagos be asked to take his son or daughter to somewhere like Kaduna or Delta State, where they may not have been before, to write an examination? Who takes care of the cost of hotel and transport? What about the risk of travelling? That looks more like a punitive banishment.” Otusanya emphasised.
An SSS 3 student in Enugu State, Benjamin Ekwere, in his opinion of the CBT said: “I do not like the system because I am not computer literate. In my school, there is no functional computer system. In the village here where I live, you cannot have access to any computer. The only time I see computer is when I travel to visit my uncle and sister in the city. The policy is a good idea for the students that are good on the computer but not for those of us who do not have access to it. Take for example, I have five friends that are in SSS 3, none of us is computer literate. We do not even have access to them.
“Government should consider the fact that not even all our teachers are computer literate, let alone the students. My brother gained admission into University of Nigeria, Nsukka, recently; he has just learned the computer. My uncle bought a laptop computer for him; that was the reason he learnt it that fast. I want to urge the government, if it truly wants to cancel the paper examination, it should make sure that all secondary school students have access to computer. There is no how we can pass without a computer. We should not just deceive ourselves.”
An SSS 3 student at the Airport Secondary School, Abuja, Jane Adams, in reaction to the CBT test said, “It is indeed a good decision by the government, but I know there will be many candidates who will not be able to cope with the use of computer for the JAMB examination. In my school, many of my classmates are computer literate. We have computer in our school and around us. They are helping us. I am sure that using computer to write the exam will reduce malpractices; it will promote computer education in our secondary schools and it will help candidates to prepare for the exam better.
“For instance, those students who are not computer literate can use their holidays to go for computer programmes instead of staying at home playing. When you start a new thing, there will always be problems. By the time the programme runs for, say, two or three years, there will be an end to the fear of computer illiteracy among the candidates.
“In addition, look at it, today, almost all secondary school students have a phone. Those who don’t have know how to operate it. There should be no fear at all. If that is what the exam required to be conducted better, I support government to go ahead with it.”
A mother of three children at Anglican Grammar School, Iju/Itaogbolu, Ondo state, Mrs Angela Alade, put her feelings on the CBT thus: “I always wonder why everything in this country is always done secondary schools in Nigeria have access to computer? Why do we always put unnecessary burden on the poor? There are several communities and villages in this country where secondary school children have never touched a computer, let alone work on it. How do you write an examination on a thing you never had access to? That will be too big a challenge to both the parents and the children.
“Does government expect us to pay over N5, 000 and our children will now go and be staring at the computer set? Is that what they want? If you want to do such a thing, it must be in collaboration with either the local government education authority or the state government. It will be a medium-term plan where you ensure that the students at least are familiar with the computer in their first year in senior secondary school. The local council or state government should look at the schools that don’t have this facility and make them available to them. This could be done in conjunction with the Federal Government. That is the simplest way to do this thing. It is a good idea but being carried out prematurely.
“The best thing government could do at the moment is to allow the use of the paper and pencil system to write the examination in areas where there is no access to computer while those communities that have them prepare their children to write with the computers,” she stressed.
A civil servant in Abuja and parent with a set of twins in SS 11, Mr Mohammed Garba, said that the introduction of CBT was a welcome development.
His words: “Nigeria has to move with the rest of the world. We must not just continue to do things in the ways of the past. The world is moving ahead every day. Give a phone to any of our children, no matter how sophisticated it is, they will operate it. There is no problem whatsoever in the introduction of the computer- based test. I was glad the day I heard of it. This will be a big catalyst in our secondary schools. By the time this thing takes off, you will see that it will be very difficult for any secondary school to operate without a computer. Must things remain the way they are? We must always be thinking of how we can progress? In the contemporary world, a child should not be certified to have finished secondary education without having basic knowledge of the computer. Everything is done today on it. What therefore is the fate of children who don’t progress beyond secondary school? Would any government be happy or proud that its citizen who finished in secondary school could not operate the computer? These are some of the fundamental things we need to look at before we condemn this policy.” Head of Economics Department, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Dr Bolaji Adesoye, commended JAMB for the introduction of UTME CBT. He said that the introduction of the computer-based examination was a progressive step but would require a re-examination, considering the nation’s power sector.
He said the examination should be made optional because candidates in the rural areas would not have access to technology like their counterparts in the urban centres.
According to him, there are a lot of things that should be considered before the introduction of the computer-based examination by the board.
“For those who are in urban areas, it may be easy for them to take examination via the computer because of their exposure to technology, but candidates in rural areas may find it difficult to take the computer-based examination.
“There is no doubt that Dibu Ojerinde and his team mean well. The CBT is a good idea, especially now that the world is becoming increasingly ICT-compliant. One also appreciates the fact that the body’s target is to ensure that candidates’ papers are marked, and results released within a short of time after the conduct of its examination. The body needs to make sure that it puts the proper machinery in place before the full take-off of the system. Most candidates, especially those in rural areas, do not have access to computer in their schools. Where they exist at all, they are drastically in short supply.
“JAMB had told the nation last year that it was going to conduct pilot CBTs till 2015 before it finally opts for the system to conduct its entrance examinations into the country’s tertiary institutions. One would have expected the body to still tarry awhile to perfect the conduct of its pilot scheme before putting a seal of finality on it. Even in last year’s examination, which marked the first pilot scheme, the CBT ran into hitches which necessitated the body to shift the examination for some candidates who registered for it.
“According to reports I read, the examinations suffered some hitches at a centre located at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. As a result, no fewer than 200 students who were scheduled to write their exam at the centre had to be moved to other centres because they could not access JAMB’s site. This resulted in the CBT starting late. A similar incident occurred at OAK Comprehensive College, Ogba, another centre in Lagos, following a power outage-cum technical problems. The consequence of this was the inability to connect the internet for the 180 candidates who were to sit for the examination. This development resulted in all the candidates being moved to another centre located on the premises of Chams, an IT-based company, located at the Government Reservation Area of Ikeja, Lagos, to enable them to take the examination.
“Even at that, it was not still plain sailing for the candidates. Prior to the incident, 350 candidates were earlier scheduled to sit for the examination at Chams on the day of the UTME, but with the relocation of other candidates to the centre, there was a population explosion which increased the number to 700. Since the capacity of the centre was 350 candidates at a time, the UTME at the centre was therefore postponed by another two days. The examination was invariably held in two sessions in order not to overstretch the infrastructure at the centre.
Ojerinde, however, declared that they are prepared.
“We have 300 centres for CBT. 2014 is the last time we are going to do Paper- Pencil Test; it will be all CBT next year; we want education to move forward, one of the ways of moving it forward is to eradicate examination malpractices.’’
He also said the CBT was designed to help the country’s move to join the comity of nations in technology development.
According to him, the choice of the CBT was to curb exam malpractices, release results at the same time and encourage candidates to prepare adequately.
“Our experience last year showed that the CBT candidates passed better than the PPT ones; there was no single examination malpractice, and no missing result and answer script,” he stated.
The registrar added that the CBT would check problems related to cost and delay experienced by candidates seeking admission through post-JAMB tests. He added that it was impossible for an applicant to register for both PPT and CBT. In defence of the issues raised by students, parents and stakeholders, Ojerinde said, “we will concentrate on generators rather than electricity from the defunct PHCN because it can fail us.
“I believe that if you can use a handset, then you can be able to do our exam. I think seeing is believing; when we are doing it, just come along or you go to a rural place where CBT is taking place and see the reactions of these young kids in the various centres. It is not a sophisticated design. Of course in future, there will be what we call multimedia approach, but for now, no way.
“As for slow internet, the bandwidth must be increased. When we started, we used six units, then when we increased it to 12 units, we discovered that it was getting faster and now we are using about 18-24 units, so it is very fast and that is what has happened to the extent that when we send the information from the office here, in three minutes time, it lands anywhere in the world,”, Ojerinde emphasised.
source: http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/cbt-can-jamb-sustain-exams-with-computers/
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