Tag: cheers

By Saturday the 2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), written fully for the first time online  in Nigeria will end.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) introduced the Computer-Based Test (CBT) option for writing the UTME in 2013 as a pilot option for candidates that sat for the examination that year.  Few candidates chose the CBT,  preferring the conventional Paper and Pencil Test (PPT) or the Dual Based Test (DBT) in which the questions were on the computer but the answers were shaded on a physical answer sheet.

Last year, JAMB reduced the number of PPT centres, leading to an increase in the enrolment for the DBT and CBT options.

In November 2012, JAMB Registrar Prof Dibu Ojerinde said the exam would be written fully online completely from this year.  True to his words, the exam, which began on March 9 ends on Saturday.

It has been a mixed grill for candidates who took the examination in 156 CBT centres nationwide.  For some, it was a wonderful experience; for others, it was woeful.

Many of the accredited CBT centres are in tertiary institutions (the ICT laboratories or e-libraries of universities, polytechnics and colleges of education).  Also, JAMB equipped its offices in the states to serve as centres; others are run by individuals.

Two issues stick out as sore thumb in the conduct of the examination – scheduled time for the examination and equipment failure.

 

Timing of Sessions

JAMB scheduled candidates to write the examination for three sessions each day.  The first session is 6am; the second, 10am; and the third, 1.30 pm.  However, in most centres, the timing has not been sacrosanct.  Candidates scheduled to write at 6am have found that after braving the odds to get to their centres, they end up waiting for about four hours to take the examination.

This was the experience of Mr. Uwakwe Abugu, whose daughter wrote the examination at Agbani in Nkanu West local council centre, of Enugu State.

He said he was satisfied with the process but frowned at the timing.

“I am particularly not satisfied with the 6am session. That 6am session should be stopped. I came all the way from Nsukka to Agbani. My daughter was scheduled for the 6am session and we left Nsukka as early as 4.30am. At last the 6am session could not hold until 9am.”

Another candidate, Esther Esom, who wrote at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) centre, also pleaded that the 6am session should be dropped.

“My father and I left Enugu as early as 4am to Nsukka in order to meet up as I was slated for the 6am session. It was risky driving on the lonely road by that time. My consolation is that the conduct of the test went well and without hindrance,” she said.

A candidate, who simply identified himself as David, wrote the exam at the e-library of the University of Calabar (UNICAL). He said some candidates could not meet up with the time and missed the examination.

“The exam put at 6am is something I do not understand. Since the centres were not adequate, most people had to write outside their domain, even in other states. So how do you expect someone who does not have any accommodation where he or she is writing the exam to be at the venue by 6am? Some people missed the exams because of this in my centre,” he said.

At Electronic Testing Centre on Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, many parents complained to have waited from morning till evening for their wards, because the examination started late.

One bitter parent, who chose to remain anonymous, said his son, whose test was slated to be done by 1pm, was not allowed into the hall until 4pm.

Angrily, he said: “They spoilt all my plans for today. I have been making calls to cancel all my meetings and appointments for today. Can’t anything just work right in this nation?”

The situation was similar at Cham City, Maryland, Ikeja, another CBT centre.  A parent, Mrs Bridget Akpos said the time lag tired the candidates, accusing JAMB of not being fully prepared to run the CBT.

“When you are not capable to handle CBT, I wonder the need for it. Look at the children, they (are) already looking exhausted. Most of them have not even eaten and some are yet to write. I think this CBT should have been test-run for five years before it was made compulsory. How can you initiate a sensitive law like this and this year you are already making it a must? It is a welcome idea but I think it should be done in a gradual process.”

In Niger State, particularly the Hajiya Jumai Aliyu Babangida ICT centre in Minna as well as three other centres visited, many candidates complained to The Nation, worried about their inabilities to commence their exams at the exact regulated period by JAMB.

Mrs. Chidinma Ndukwe, Director of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and coordinator of the centre at the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba in Abia State, explained that the three sessions was to avoid the examination extending into the elections.

“The three sessions per day are very stressful. Two sessions per day is okay if we are actually to consider the stress; but because of the election, they (JAMB) don’t want it (UTME) to run into the election, we are having the three sessions. Last year, we had only two sessions though some people in Lagos did three sessions, at least, we didn’t stay here beyond 6pm. We stay here up till 8pm,” she said.

 

System Failure

Though the CBT centres in use were inspected before being accredited for the examination, in reality, it seems their accreditation seemed to have been a smokescreen given the number of systems that failed in the course of the examination.

Centres were told to provide at least 150 computers, generators or inverters to provide alternative power, thumbprint scanners, internet access, and security.  However, in many parts of the country, the problems of server/network failure, computer breakdown, and power failure disrupted the examination and caused the candidates discomfort.  The failures also contributed to the delays and inability of many centres to follow the schedule for the examination.

Complaints about system failure were rife in Rivers State.  At the time of this report, Happiness Ele, whose centre was at Federal Government College of Education, Omoku, said she had not been able to write the examination for two days since she had been going to the school to wait her turn because the computers were insufficient.

“I am not the only one in this mess because some who were even booked before me have not taken the exams because the college does not have enough computers to go round and their servers are not working well,” she said.

Power was not much of a problem at Omoku because the oil companies supply electricity regularly.   However it was a big issue at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) centre.  A candidate, Favour Chinda, told The Nation that there was no light on March 17 and the university was battling with its generator to restore light by 11am of that day when the second batch ought to have started writing.

The same power outage was noticed during our reporter’s visit to the school and the candidates were waiting for the light to be restored. Even at that, many of them lamented that the systems they were given were not very active.

A parent, Mrs Grace Akpor whose daughter wrote at UNIPORT decried the trouble her child passed through for two days to write the exams.

“How can you ask UNIPORT that is not ICT-complaint to host JAMB exams when the federal government has not even provided them with the basic infrastructure they need; how much more computers? The whole arrangement is a mess and it shows that JAMB is not prepared for this exams,” she said.

At the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, some of the candidates complained that the systems given to them were neither working well nor sufficient for all.

“The systems are doing off and on magic,” said Johnson Masi, a candidate.

At the Port Harcourt office of JAMB, many candidates and parents were seen complaining of one thing or the other. But their complaints seemed to be like water poured on stone as there was no JAMB official to attend to them.

One of the complainants, Mr Basone Dimma, wondered whether JAMB inspected the centres before accrediting them.

“JAMB did not inspect the centres they have chosen for the examination. They are supposed to test-run the exams properly but JAMB did not do that and this is why the candidates are accusing JAMB of lack of preparedness for the UTME,” he said.

In Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, many candidates complained about system failure as well.  One who pleaded anonymity told The Nation that they could not finish because of the problems encountered.

“Again, in my centre in the metropolis, some of the candidates could not finish the papers due to delay, machine malfunctioning and insufficient time.  The exercise was not tidy at all. May be this is because this is the first time it will be conducted nationwide,” he said.

Mrs. Kemi Amure, a parent in Ado-Ekiti, expressed disappointment about the problem her ward encounterd at the Crown Polytechnic centre which led to the rescheduling of the test.

She said the hitch should be blamed on JAMB which she accused of not putting its house in order before coming out with the CBT.

“JAMB should not use innocent students as guinea pigs.  The frustration of candidates at the centre would discourage them and affect their morale,” she said.

But a Deputy Director of JAMB, Mr. Abdulwakil Isamotu, disagreed that the situation was so bad, saying of the 11 centres in Ekiti State, only Crown Polytechnic had issues.

He said: “There will be some teething problems, I am a Supervisor in Ekiti State. The only place we have problem is Crown Polytechnic Centre. The test could not start on schedule; we had to reschedule it for Friday and Saturday.”

In Kano, one of the problematic centres was MS World Technology Limited located at No. 26 Audu Bako Way, where candidates openly protested irregularities surrounding the exercise.

One of them, Sultan Mohammed Usman, an 18-year old who travelled all the way from Gamboru-Ngala Local Government Area in Borno state, said, he spent three days without writing the examination.

“As I am talking to you, I am frustrated. I have been here for the past three days; I have been unable to secure a session to write my examination, but I have been promised that my own session will come up at about 3:30 this afternoon (last Friday). What we observed that is causing this delay is the weak server at the centre and the coordinator has no option than to break the sessions to enable us write our examination,” he said.

Another candidate, Adamu Suleiman, who was lucky to write, had the examination disrupted by network failure.

He said: “During the examination, the network got hooked. At the end, the computer came up by itself but showed the message: “you have submitted your examination script” without me concluding answering the questions. The worst of all is that my result is not out up till now, while those who sat with me have already gotten their own result. In this type of situation, what will I explain to my parents who spent their hard-earned money to ensure that I follow my school mates to participate in the examination?”

In Lagos, over 60 candidates who wrote at the ETC centre in Ikeja last Tuesday, complained about the same problem.  They were told to stand aside and wait because their computers went off while they were taking the examination. One of them, Yetunde Sulaimon, said: “We were writing the examination and the computers suddenly went off. When we put them on and tried to re-register, they said we have already registered, refusing to give us access to continue our exam. We informed the officials and they said we should wait that they would do something and we have been waiting for more than five hours now.”

There were other victims like Ogechi Cynthia, Adeleke Oluwatosin and Adenike Abibat, who proclaimed their desire for the “old method” of taking JAMB with pencils.

The wait was not over that day as further enquiries revealed that their examinations may need to be rescheduled.

 

Computer illiteracy

This may be the age of technology, but some candidates, particularly those living in rural areas found it difficult navigating the simple technology required for the examination.  To answer questions using the CBT mode, candidates are required only to use the mouse to click the right answers and the “next” button to progress.  However, those will little or no prior knowledge of computer literacy found these seemingly simple tasks difficult to follow, which affected their composure and performance.

In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), candidates said those who had problems navigating the system got a lot of support from JAMB officials.

One of them, Esther Onu said: “One of the challenges was the fact that some of the candidates are not computer literate and had to ask some of the invigilators to put them through. But over 70 per cent of us are computer literate. The JAMB officials really helped us a lot, even those that didn’t go for the pretest on use of computer didn’t find it difficult at all. Like me I didn’t go for any computer lessons but I operated the computer well.”

Another candidate in Abuja, Winifred Okoh, said it was a perfect examination and that even though some of the candidates found it difficult to operate the computers but were assisted by the officials.

However, that support was lacking in some other states.  In Kano, many candidates, particularly those from the northern hinterlands could not come to terms with the level of sophistication surrounding the technology being used for the exercise. According findings by our correspondent, the exercise, from that part of the country, faced grave challenges, which may affect results of the candidates. Extensively, greater percentage of candidates that wrote in Kano was not computer literate.

Ope Oyeleye, who wrote in Ekiti State, said coming from a poor background, she would have loved Paper to Pencil Test since she was not very familiar with the computer.

But Mr. Abdulwakil Isamotu, a JAMB official, said using the computer for the CBT only required the use of the keyboard and the mouse, not so much ICT knowledge.

“On the keyboard, you must know how to use keyboard, how to press the letters. You don’t have to be a computer guru. Use your mouse and press the keys,” he said.

A candidate who wrote in Aba, Abia State, Omorukpa Gregory, said although it was his first time writing the CBT, he did not find it difficult to operate the system because he had enrolled in a computer lesson at his place, in Boki, Cross River State some months before the examination.

 

Praises for the examination

Despite the hitches in some centres, some others were relatively problem free.  In such centres, the candidates were happy and noted they preferred CBT mode.

Nosike Oscar, who wrote in Abuja, said the CBT eliminates examination malpractice, which was the bane of the PPT.

“The CBT remains the best because it has helped to eliminate examination malpractices. Everything was well organized when compared to previous UTME. This is my second attempt and I’m confident that I will pass,” he said.

Another candidate, Faith Oluwamuyiwa, said it reduces stress and the timing was perfect.

JAMB can take courage in success reports from other UTME centres in Lagos, including the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Federal College of Education Technical (FCE-T), Akoka, and Digital Bridge Institute, Cappa, Oshodi, where the process was smooth and successful.

At UNILAG, the candidates took their test in due time and with minimal technical challenges.

Deborah Bello, Jessica Chijioke and Ayinde Rashidat, gave similar testimonies of the computers and server at their centres being in perfect condition, hence, they started and finished their examinations with no disruption.

The principal technologist at the UNILAG ICT Centre, Mr Jonathan Ogungbe, said he ran the centre with utmost expertise and experience, which contributed to the success of the UTME CBT exam.

He said: “You can see that the hardware is working perfectly, because the students will start having issues the moment the system is not working fine. So we are the ones to make sure that they are all working. I have almost 30 years working experience as a technologist, so the experience is there and the competency is also there. Arrangements are also important, that is why we do not have any issue here. It is now left for the students and the machine. As far as Unilag is concerned, we have all the facilities we need to perform the job successfully.”

At UNILAG, physically challenged candidates also enjoyed constant supervision from the jamb official, who hovered over them, ready to attend to every call for attention.

At FCE-T, Clara Okosa, a candidate at the centre, said save for lateness, there were no other hitches.

“My exam was good; I did not experience any difficulty, although we started a bit late. Then two boys were caught with their phones in the hall and they were apprehended,” she said.

Adebayo Jimoh, who took his exam at FCE-T, said: “The exam was fine. My computer did not have any issue, neither did I hear anybody complain of any computer difficulties.”

An invigilator at the centre, Nkiru Ndubuisi confirmed that competent technicians were available to take care of any difficulties although only minor issues were recorded. She said: “as you can see, the exam is going on fine and they are well organised. Technicians are around to cater to the candidates’ technical difficulties, but they have not really had any problem.”

In Enugu, many candidates the conduct of the examination was a success, except for a few pardonable lapses.

Candidates who sat for the test and their parents were of the view that the conduct was not bad as expected.  At the various centres visited, candidates were cheerful as all the computers working and there was no issue of network failure.

 

A word from JAMB

In a chat with our correspondent, the JAMB Registrar, Prof Ojerinde, preparation and conduct of CBT was capital intensive at the moment but expressed optimism that in years to come the mode would be cheaper than the proscribed PPT.

He disclosed that more Examination Centres would be secured before the conduct of next year examination, adding that about 530 owners of Computer Centres applied to take part in this exercise “but we are only able to take 400 because they have been judged to have met our criteria”.

He also gave clarification that what the Board is doing was purely computer based test but not Internet based test as wrongly speculated in some quarters.

Ojerinde, said it was misleading for some candidates to come out from the examination and said they had challenge of frequent shut down of server during examination in their centres.

He said: “There are two ways of testing. Internet based testing and Computer based test. We are not using Internet to test. Here we send our questions straight to the computers from the Engine House and it reaches the Examination Centres in one and half minutes or three minutes maximum. So, we are using Internet for now. You know how erratic our internet facilities are.”

On security report from the volatile states, the JAMB Registrar said the examination was going on well in all the states including Yobe, Yola and Maiduguri.

However, efforts to get Ojerinde to respond to the hitches across the country proved abortive as he refused to respond to phone calls and text messages.

Though admitting there were hitches, the Chairman of the Board of JAMB, Mr Peter Eze, said the examining body has achieved 90 per cent success in the conduct of the CBT.

Eze, said he was glad to have seen candidates were very enthusiastic and well prepared for the examination. “We have not seen anybody complaining because it is Computer Based Test.

“If we say we have achieved up to 100 per cent success that will not be true. But we have achieved to a large extent up to 90 per cent success. We have few problems in a few of our centres nationwide which we must admit. But we don’t have problems in Abuja,” he said.