The Nation Newspaper

Tag: exam

  • Poly starts exam

    Students have started writing their examinations at the Federal Polytechnic in Offa (OFFA POLY), Kwara State.

    To prepare well for the exam students have reduced their social activities.

    Muyideen Adisa, a Higher National Diploma (HND) 1 Library and Information student, said all social activities could wait till the end of the examination. “It is time to study,” he said.

    Many students were excited by the release of examination timetable  because, according to them, “the semester was prolonged by two months due to internal strike and the elections”. The semester started last December and it was expected to end in March.

    A final year student of Building Technology, Chukwuemeka Oyeche, said: “Now that we have started exam, I am happy that I will be a graduate soon. The management must not stop the exam for anything, because I cannot wait to leave the school any longer.”

  • LBS adopts GMAT for MBA entrance exam

    Lagos Business School (LBS) has adopted GMAT as the only form of written assessment prequalifying applicants for its full-time MBA programme.

    This development, driven by the school’s efforts to boost the local and international competitiveness of its students, is a departure from the earlier model giving candidates the option to either write GMAT or the LBS entrance examination.

    The GMAT exam, accepted by over 6,000 schools globally, measures candidates’ analytical skills and determines their preparedness for the business school classroom.

    “Candidates who take the official GMAT have a very high tendency to perform exceptionally well in class and eventually graduate to become highly sought-after professionals.  The GMAT exam will help us identify candidates with the potential we need to achieve this,”  said MBA Director, Dr Uchenna Uzo.

    According to the Marketing Manager of the programme, Segun Abodunrin, the GMAT exam remains the best parameter for vetting MBA candidates in business schools across the world. “It ties in with our aim to prepare managers with the right skills to thrive and succeed in an emerging continent like Africa,” he explained.

    Recently, LBS restructured its Full-time MBA programme, stipulating that candidates have a minimum of three years’ post-qualification work experience as against one. The duration of the programme was also reduced from 21 to 18 months and offers students international exchange programme opportunities.

     

  • Lagos introduces CBT for Model College exam

    The Lagos State Ministry of Education has introduced Computer Based Test (CBT) for entrance examination into its 15 model colleges/upgraded junior secondary schools for the 2015/2016 academic session.

    The Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, who announced the sale of entry forms for the examination, said as the pilot edition, only about 20-30 candidates would write the CBT version.

    She noted in a statement that the CBT would only be for interested candidates, while the majority would write the conventional Pencil Based Test (P.B.T.).

    The CBT would hold at the I.C.T/ Computer Centre of the Lagos State Examinations Board (LSEB), Agege, while the PBT would hold in designated centres across the state on May 9.

    The Commissioner noted that candidates, after paying the N10,000 registration fee, would get  a customised Compact Disc (CD) from the Lagos State Examination Board.

    The 15 model colleges/upgraded schools include Lagos State Model Junior College, Meiran; Vetland Junior Grammar School, Ifako-Ijaiye; Lagos State Model Junior College, Igbokuta; Lagos State Civil Service Model Junior College, Igbogbo; Oriwu Model Junior College, Ikorodu; Government Junior College, Ikorodu; Eva Adelaja Memorial Junior Secondary School, Bariga.

    Others are Lagos State Model Junior College, Badore; Lagos State Model Junior College, Igbonla; and Lagos State Model Junior College, Agbowa; Government Junior College, Ketu-Epe; Epe Junior Grammar School, Epe; Lagos State Model Junior College, Kankon; Lagos State Model Junior College, Ojo; and Badagry Junior Grammar School, Badagry.

    The sales of forms will close on April 3.

    However, a group, the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Lagos State Area Unit (LSAU), has objected to the N10,000 registration fee, which was the same amount charged last year.

    A statement signed by its Amir (President), Kaamil Kalejaiye, MSSN LSAU, said the burden of bringing quality or change in the education system should not be placed on parents.

    “The fear is that this is just the beginning, very soon the Lagos State government may begin to ask parents in public schools to start paying ‘token’ school fees.? This may not come directly, but with another obscure tag. This is possible because we have seen high fee regime happened in the state university, polytechnic and colleges of education. All these have made the educational policies of LASG scary and mostly anti-masses,” he said.

     

  • Exam offenders will be dealt with, freshers warned

    Freshers admitted into the Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) have been told to embrace academic excellence. The advice came from the Dean, Associate

    Prof E.S. Jatau, who spoke at an orientation held to welcome the students to the faculty last Thursday.

    The event, which took place at the Lecture Theatre 1, had in attendance the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof Yakubu Ngwai, and members of staffs of the faculty.

    The dean told the freashers to work hard, noting that the faculty does not reward indolence. He advised them to share any challenge they may be facing with their lecturers and the faculty staff.

    The president of the faculty, Abdullahi Edaidu, urged the student to desist from immoral behaviour and vices, saying the university would not tolerate vices, such as cultism, examination malpractice and hooliganism.

    The faculty’s Examination Officer, Mallam Shehu Sanusi informed the freshers on the dos and don’ts of school. He advised the students to study hard in preparation for their examination. Sanusi warned them to shun examination malpractice, adding that anyone caught would be penalised.

    Prof. Yakubu warmly welcomed the students and advised them to be diligent and serious-minded throughout the period of their stay in the institution.

    The faculty was established in October 2001 and has eight departments.

     

     

  • Controversy trails Bar exam

    Controversy trails Bar exam

    Widespread dissatisfaction has continued to trail the Bar Part II results released last week by the Council of Legal Education, the body overseeing the programme of the Nigerian Law School (NLS). The candidates’ performance is believed to be the worst in the annals of the Law School. More than 4,000 of the over 5,840 students that took the Bar exam reportedly got poor grades. The unsuccessful students are requesting for a review of the results, reports WALE AJETUNMOBI.

    The Council of Legal Education last week released the results of the Bar Part II examination for the 2013/2014 academic session. But the law students who sat for the exam held in August are not happy with the results.

    Of the over 5,840 graduates of law from various universities that sat for the examination in four campuses of the Nigerian Law School (NLS), less than 2,000 reportedly passed. The results  appear to be the worst since the council was created in 1962.

    The council, under the Legal Education Act, has the statutory responsibility of training law students before they are called to the Bar.

    Before the results were released, majority of the law students were optimistic. In preparation for the Bar ceremony in November, a good number of them have purchased wigs and gowns. A host of others have booked for return flights to Abuja ahead of the Call to Bar.

    However, many were disappointed when the results were released. The students’ optimism was punctured, after many of them came out with poor grades. It was alleged that more than 70 per cent of the candidates failed.

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that, of the 5,840 candidates, only four students graduated from the NLS with First Class. It was also gathered that 96 made Second Class (Upper Division). The rest made Second Class (Lower Division), Pass, Conditional Pass while others failed outrightly.

    Given the mass failure, it is expected that the unsuccessful candidates will re-take the examination with thousands of fresh law graduates that will enrol for the Bar programme next month. The affected candidates are dissatisfied with the unfavourable outcome, with many of them urging the council to review the results.

    Some of the NLS officials, who spoke to CAMPUSLIFE, attributed the woeful performance to candidates’ negligence. They said most of the candidates did not take their studies seriously as many of them travelled frequently, abandoning their studies.

    A 2010 graduate of the Law School, Jim Opaleke, disagreed with the notion that the candidates were ill-prepared for the examination. He said: “I am not convinced that such a mass failure should be attributed to the level of preparation by students. I am fortified in the belief that when an examiner sets an examination, where over 50 per cent of his students fail, it clearly shows that such an examiner has done a very poor job. It is an indictment on the entire system. Until we realise that the reputation of an institution is not improved by how difficult it is to graduate from it, we will continue to miss the point of the essence of quality examination.”

    Contrary to the claim of mass failure, the Secretary to the council, Mrs E.O. Max-Uba, said 57.01 per cent of the graduates passed the examination. She spoke to the PM News on Monday.

    The unsuccessful candidates and some, who are dissatisfied with their grades, are lamenting the outcome, requesting the NLS Director-General, Mr Olarenwaju Onadeko, to review the result. Some of them spoke to this reporter on telephone, pleading anonymity for fear of being profiled.

    One of them, who simply identified himself as Justus, said: “I finished from the Lagos Campus and I remember the day that Onadeko came to the school on an official visit, where he made a statement that there would be strict examination rule to overhaul the system and to restore the standard of the Law School. If he wanted to do this, he should have concentrated on improving the crumbling infrastructure on the campuses, especially in Lagos that is battling accommodation challenges.”

    A female student said the council graded the candidates according to their scores in the subject offered. “If one has grade A in four courses and grade D in one subject, he will be automatically graded to a pass grade. This system of grading is unjust and needs to be reviewed.”

    The system is corrupt, says another unsuccessful student. He said: “When you consider the years of study, the resources and the effort put in, one cannot but weep. Some of us have not failed any exam in our lives before. This is evidence that the system is corrupt. The ideal thing is to review the results.”

    A candidate at the Enugu Campus, who passed in the Bar exam, said: “I am not happy with my grade. They gave me a pass and God knows that I studied hard. There was no day that I missed lectures. But Onadeko came with the intention to fail students. They allotted 50 minutes for multi-choice question model, which should normally be answered in one hour. Besides, the questions were not difficult ones. All had been taught in class. That 4,000 students failed raises a lot of questions.”

    A candidate at the Abuja Campus, who simply identified herself as Ronke, said: “In every exam, there are always people who do not prepare. Is it not ridiculous that, despite paying N300,000 for the Bar programme, the mental and psychological stress in the last one year, a whopping 4,000 candidates were said to have ill-prepared for the examination? This cannot be true. There is something wrong somewhere, and if justice must be done, the results have to be reviewed.”

    CAMPUSLIFE could not reach the NLS Director-General at the time of this report.

    Meanwhile, the NLS has fixed November 25 for the successful students to be called to the Bar. In an online statement, the NLS said the event, which is normally held for two or three days, will only be held for one day.

    While the successful candidates are preparing to take the Bar oath, their unsuccessful colleagues are keeping their arms crossed, hoping that, one way or the other, the result will be reviewed.

    A management staff at Lagos Campus, who pleaded anonymity, blamed the students for their woeful performance. He said the students were looking for cheap mark after reading unapproved materials for the exam.

    He said: “Nobody can mark down the students. Whatever they got is what they deserve. The marking process is not individual but a conference method that ensures every candidate’s script is seen by all examiners. Computer does the final grading. We have mass failure because students are no longer reading the recommended textbooks. Most of them prefer to buy law materials being sold at gate and tutorial centres.

    “Many of them did not even know we are operating a new curriculum. They read irrelevant materials for the exam and they failed. How many of them have come forward to call for the review of their scripts? They are interested in cheap results. Law School won’t give bazaar marks to students, because we don’t want to compromise quality. If anyone feels he was unjustly graded, let him come forward to state his case.”

     

  • Group tackles exam failure

    Worried by the mass failure recorded in Mathematics in the just-released results of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Women in Technical Education and Development (WITED) has recommended counselling to address the irrational fear students have on the subject in the bud.

    The group also suggested public enlightenment campaigns aimed at dispelling students’ apathy on Mathematics and other Science subjects.

    President of WITED, Mrs. Osiki Francis disclosed this to reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at the sideline of the association’s National Coordinating Committee (NCC) meeting.

    Mrs. Francis, a civil engineer and lecturer at the Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, added: “There is no place whatever for fear of the course. Fear already defeats the individual even before he or she confronts the problem. So, that self-defeatist attitude should be addressed through counseling. We need public enlightenment campaigns; so information is necessary in allaying the fears of students about Mathematics and Sciences.”

    She said that WITED was borne out the desire to encourage the girl-child, who has the God-given flair to appreciate Mathematics, science and technical courses for the country to march forward technologically.

    She said: “For meaningful national development, the female folks that constitute about half of the population of Nigeria should not be left behind.

    “Government can encourage the girl-child to take up Mathematics and technical courses by giving scholarships and awards to those excelling in these subjects. Besides, science laboratories should be well equipped; Science and Mathematics teachers should also be encouraged. This is because when they are happy, they will be at their best in their works and the students will do well.

    “Parents’ roles cannot be over-emphasised. They are the starting point of the life of the child. Parents should be enlightened as they have the right attitude to the girl-child in pursuing these subject areas.

    “Women who have the ability are being encouraged to come on board. There should be no force, no coercion. Those who are able to fit into the programme are encouraged to come on board.

    “Our approach is to go to the primary and secondary schools to sensitise the girl-child that she should have no phobia for courses such as Mathematics, Sciences and Engineering.

    “The grassroots is our first target; from there, we move to the traditional rulers who are the custodians of culture to help us pass the message to their subjects; to allay fears of Mathematics and technical subjects.”

    On the challenges hindering women from taking up Mathematics and technical education courses, Mrs. Francis said: “The challenges are varied. It could be socio-cultural factors. There are some places where women are to be seen and not heard. They just have to be in the kitchen. That perception is changing, although fundamentally our place is in the kitchen. Religion is another of the factors, among others.”

  • Exam threatened as strike looms in Kogi varsity

    THE Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) at the Kogi State University (KSU) in Ayingba has threatened to go on strike if its members allowances are not paid.

    The NASU chairman, Comrade Yusuf Audu, in an interview with CAMPUSLIFE, said the management and Governing Council wre lax about the demands despite a 2009 agreement.

    The planned action would be total, Audu said, because that the management is not ready to implement the agreement.

    Highlighting some of the demands, he said the management failed to pay 11 months arrears of staff minimum wage. Despite the cries by staff, he said, the school has not placed the non-teaching workers on pension till date. Audu said the planned strike would compel the management to address the issues permanently.

    Calling on the government to wade into the crisis, Audu said members had exercised patience enough, adding that many things were considered before resolving to go on strike.

    His words: “Unionism is about staff welfare and that is what we are fighting for. What we are asking management and government is what is contained in our 2009 agreement. They have refused to pay our hazard and responsibility allowances.”

    He said while other universities were already paying the allowances, KSU refused. The union said despite the support giving to it by the national body, it refused to go on strike because the institution is state-owned. Audu said members had been terrified beyond patience.

    He described the body as peace-loving, which always sought alternative way of resolving issues rather than resorting to industrial action.

    Reacting, president of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), John Idachaba, urged the union to dialogue with the management.

    He said there was no basis for confrontation between the two parties, adding that the students’ union would make move to reach out to the parties involved to find a way of resolving the matter.

  • Lagos school headship now by exam

    With the panel interview conducted for over 300 candidates seeking to head schools or assist head teachers last week, the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) ended the practice of automatic promotion into such positions.

    Eighty-two head teacher hopefuls and 293 assistant head-teacher candidates who made at least 50 per cent in the Duty Post Examination for grade levels 13-15 (for assistant head teachers) and 14-16 (for head teachers) were interviewed in batches by a panel of assessors made up of directors and heads of departments at SUBEB.

    A source from the SUBEB Information unit told The Nation that successful candidates from the interview stage would be held in a pool and fixed into the two positions as vacancies are open.

    “When vacancies are open, the best among those who passed the interview will be posted to the schools.  The panel would consider their dressing, composure and answers to the specific questions thrown at the candidates.  This system marks the end of automatic promotion to the position of head teachers and assistant head teacher,” the source said.

  • LASU final year students begin exam amid anxiety

    Students and, especially those who ply their trade at the Lagos State University (LASU), have been locked out of the university premises since Monday.

    A huge crowd gathers daily at the entrance gate in Ojo; but are barred from gaining entrance as armed policemen manning two armoured tanks mounted at the university main gate, prevented people from entering.

    Staff of the university as well as 400-Level students, including those of banks located within LASU premises, were only allowed after the police screened them and ensured their ID cards were okay.

    Within the university premises, a few policemen also interrogated and frisked some suspected individuals though there was no report of any weapon being discovered on them.

    However, those who were worst hit were individuals that mostly operate call centres, business centres and food vendors within the university. Their pleas fell on deaf ears despite their repeated explanation to the security officials and police that they were not students but only ply their trade on campus.

    Last week, the university management released a bulletin mandating only final year students to commence their second semester examination beginning from Monday. Our reporter gathered that the information had irked many of the students who felt the management was using double standard as they could have allowed all of them to commence examination the same time. Sensing danger, the university management had invited the police to keep watch over the campus to forestall likely chaos.

    A 400-Level Law undergraduate, who identified herself as Janet, told our reporter that her colleagues who wanted to either type or complete some assignments given them ahead of exam could not as most of those who operate business centres were locked outside the gate.

    “My friends and I have been going from one shop to another looking for where to type our assignments to no avail. Many of our customers, who have our materials in their system (computers) were not allowed into the campus. Some of us are so worried and we have agreed to appeal to some of our lecturers who had earlier insisted that our assignments must be submitted on the examination day.”

    The students Union President-elect Comrade Nurudeen Yusuf told our reporter on phone that the entire campus had been militarised.

    He said: “I can tell you many of the final year students will not write their exams with peace of mind today (Monday). The entire compound is militarised. The police and our security are harassing everybody even the students they have invited to come and write exam. The entire environment is tense.”

    Nevertheless, a source from the university Information Unit, who pleaded not to be mentioned, told our reporter that the premises was calm.

    The source said though the examination time had to be delayed on Monday to allow only final year students into the premises.

    “The exam time was delayed to allow only 400-Level students to come in and write exam; but everywhere is calm and the students are about to start,” the source said on Monday.

    The university, it would be recalled, was shut about six weeks ago, following a chaos that greeted the management’ s refusal to open the university’s registration portal ahead of their exam.

    In a related development, a civil society group, the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) and Save LASU Campaign Movement, a body formed by LASU students, have called on all their colleagues to remain steadfast in the struggle to force the government to reverse the hike in school fees. The bodies also called on fresh students not to pay yet, but wait for the response of the state government.

    They also called on the full resumption of all students against the ongoing partial resumption that allows only the final year students, register and write exams.

    In a statement, ERC National Coordinator and National Secretary, Hassan Taiwo and Michael Ogundele said: “The fee hike is a death pill that threatens the very existence of the university itself. Today, LASU has the worst enrolment in Nigeria going by its declining student population.

    “From the status of a state university with one of the biggest student population, LASU has no fewer than 13,000 students. By the time the current 300 and final year students graduate, there may be no fewer than 6,000 students in the university. This is because no one wants to go to LASU again due to the outrageous fees.”

    On the issue of resumption they said they welcome the partial reopening of the University but demand that rather than open the University for final year students alone, all students must be allowed to resume, register and write examinations.

     

  • Exam Ethics lauds provost’s transparency

    The Exam Ethics Marshal International has praised the Provost of the Federal College of Education, Eha Amufu, Enugu State, Prof Benjamin Mbah for entrenching ethics in examination and assessment practices in the school.

    The group, which seeks to promote ethics, integrity and best practices in education, is saluting his courage to carry out ethical activities despite opposition by some workers in the school.

    Since he was appointed provost in 2010, the founding chairman of the Exam Ethics Marshal, Mr Ike Onyechere said Mbah has made efforts to check malpractices as well as curb the practices of unscrupulous academics who sell grades to students.

    Onyechere, said in a statement, that Mbah sent 30 lecturers to be trained and inaugurated by Exam Ethics Marshal in 2011. Since then, he added, they have been working to instil ethics in the school students and mentoring them to be members of the exam ethics club.

    He said: “Prof Mbah sponsored 30 lecturers to be trained and inaugurated as Exam Ethics Marshals. The lecturers subscribed to the exam ethics marshal pledge and committed themselves to the code of ethical self regulation and discipline in their work station; to insist on best practices in their sphere of operational influence; and to be mentors and role models for students through Exam Ethics clubs. They returned to the college and successfully championed the restoration of best practices.

    “The Provost also sponsored the inauguration of Exam Ethics Clubs in the college. Embraced by the Students’ Union government, the club became a vehicle and medium for the students to monitor and appraise their lecturers in terms of acts of commission and omission, relating to extortion, sale of marks, sale of handouts, withholding of scripts and other sundry acts of examination malpractice and academic dishonesty.”

    Onyechere added that these efforts are already yielding positive results as the institution has cleared backlog of results which delayed convocations for many years; begun posting results online to protect students against victimisation from lecturers.

    However, Onyechere lamented that Mbah has faced serious opposition in his campaign to run the college ethically leading to his kidnap on June 28, 2011. For four days, he was tied to a tree and exposed to the elements until he was rescued by the police.

    He urged the security agencies to serve justice by bringing the kidnappers to book.

    “All patriotic education friendly Nigerians are encouraged to lend their voices to the call for all those involved in the kidnapping of Prof Mbah to be brought to justice.

    As Mbah clocks four years in office on March 18, Onyechere said Exam Ethics Marshal celebrates his successes and will continue to support him in the face of opposition. The group urged other school administrators to emulate his courage in doing right.