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  • JAMB: Furore over computer based test

    JAMB: Furore over computer based test

    Taiwo Alimi, captures the changing faces of JAMB at 38, and issues around UTME’s Computer Based Test.

    TOYIN, 17, left her abode at Alagbole, a bubbling suburb of Ogun State at exactly 5:30 am in order to get to the quiescent settlement of Magboro, Ogun State before 7 am. High in spirit and with extra bounce to her feet, she was to sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), her first attempt, on the fateful Saturday morning of February 27, 2016.

    When she returned home at 9:15 pm, she looked depressed and dejected as she dragged her feet wearily in frustration, for she was unable to do the Computer-Based Test (CBT), though to no fault of hers.

    She recounted her ordeal: “I had eagerly looked forward to my first UTME. It is the only thing standing between the University and me,” started the young school leaver who got straight As in the 2015 West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC). “I had spent countless nights reading and getting ready for the exams. My parents also paid a private English tutor to brush me up. I was ready.”

    Toyin got to the CBT center along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway early enough and joined hundreds of other candidates for the 2016 CBT, as put together by the organizing body, the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB). What luck! She thought, to be among the first set of students to jump-start the exercise at her center. But what she got was a baptism of fire.

    “I began to feel uneasy and hungry when the organisers had not called us in by 11 am. That hunger turned to apprehension and anger when they came out at 1 pm, to inform us that they were having problem with the server.” By this time, the crowd of students and parents had tripled with the addition of the 12 noon and 3 pm examinees.

    Left at the mercy of innate desire, scotching sun and awful general condition, the multitude of young, bold and restless candidates, mostly teenagers, could no longer control their emotions. At first, they reacted in hush grumble. But their mumuring soon grew harsh and then, they started throwing objects into the building and at the organizers.

    “JAMB officers were the first to disappear from the scene before security men forcefully dispatched us. I left for home when it became dark and apparent that no one could sit for the exams,” Toyin recalled. A week later, Toyin returned to the place to do the CBT alongside over 700 others. But that first impression of JAMB, she said, ‘left a sour taste in my mouth, and brain.”

    JAMB has always been an institution of contrasts. It has always looked for new ways to invigorate its prime product, the UTME, which is responsible, since 1978, for placing teeming teenagers and adults into Nigeria’s Universities, Polytechnics, and other institutions of higher learning annually. Sadly, it is yet to deliver its winning recipe, even with its latest CBT formula.

    According to JAMB statistics, 1.5 million candidates registered for the 2016 UTME, and each coughed out an average N5000. Suffice to add that UTME is written every year, meaning JAMB has a steady flow of income as well as the opportunity to play god while defining the destiny of Nigerian youths.

    JAMB first introduced the CBT method of writing UTME in 2013, and conducted the examination in 2013 and 2014 using three modes-dual-based tests, Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and CBT with candidates having to choose between the devil (written test) and the deep blue sea (CBT). In 2015, the board went full scale CBT, which continued this year. It changed for a singular devil’s alternative of CBT, at least for most states of the federation that are IT compliant.

    From February 27 to March 19, tens of thousands of students, who thought they would simply walk into JAMB’s CBT centers, punch in their answers and within hours receive their results via mobile phones, got the rude shock of their lives. This simple assumption became a complex task as experienced by Toyin and many other candidates.

    Real issues

    They talked about harrowing experiences at many centers. The problems vary from power failure, poor internet connectivity, late start, inadequate computer sets, among others. In some centers, it was a combination of two or three of these problems, leading to emotional and physical stress on students and their parents.

    CBT managers, who are mostly cybercafe owners contracted to manage the facilities (Internet ready computers) for the examination, also had their own tales of woes to tell. At a center visited by this reporter in the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway area of Ogun State, chaos personified the mode and scene.

    Over 500 candidates and about a 100 parents crowded the major road and adjoining streets leading to the lone CBT center in the neighbourhood. The Nation’s investigation revealed that the center accommodates 750 students daily, and they are distributed evenly in three batches.

    The CBT center is located in a large school hall tucked inside one of the adjacent streets and a no-go area for students who have to wait out on the nearby streets, shops and residential houses that played host to the unwanted visitors as long as the exams lasted. One of candidates, Dotun said he came with her mother and both have been waiting for her turn for four hours.

    “I’m supposed to write my papers at 9 a.m, so I got here at 7 a.m with my mum,” she cast a quick glance at her wristwatch before corroborating her son, “It is already 12 noon and we are still waiting.”

    Dotun complained about the emotional and physical stress that the long wait has caused him. He noted that it might affect him when he eventually gets in to do the exams. “We were not allowed to enter the hall, and no provision was made for chairs to make us comfortable. We have to patch on wherever we find. Right now I’m tired and frustrated and that condition applies to many of my friends and candidates you see here.”

    About an hour after our discussion, invigilators came out to call in the next batch of examinees. Dotun was among them and he followed about 200 others towards the hall. He was back four hours later, feeling more frustrated. He related what happened inside.

    “When we got in, the generator had packed up and they (organisers) were trying to fix it. Of course, there was no public power and so we had to wait for them to finish the repair. That went on for about an hour and after we started the papers, my computer tripped off twice and I had to start all over again. It was a harrowing experience and the truth is that I don’t know what to expect.”

    Lekan, 19, who came from Ojodu Berger, shared a near similar tale. “I was to write my papers on day one, being a Saturday, but after waiting for five hours, we were told that we could not do ours because their generator malfunctioned. At first, we were not told anything we became restive and threatened to vandalize the place. So, I’ve been coming here every day because they said we would be accommodated another day.”

    One of the parents who came with his son, Mr. Tajudeen Semiu, summarized his experience thus: “JAMB is yet to get it right. I came with my son because of his ill health and he has been in there, (pointing to the exam hall) for more than four hours now. After much persuasion, one of the invigilators confided that the center was having power problem. He said they are waiting for another generator because the former one developed a problem and not working. I’m afraid now for my son’s health because this experience is too rigorous for him.”

    The issues

    At another Lagos center at Abule Egba, off Abeokuta Expressway, electricity issue cropped up. Sade, a secondary school leaver, who is having his second CBT experience back to back, said JAMB must step up its game. “JAMB is making the exam more scaring for us (candidates). At this center, some of the computer backups were faulty and whenever power went off my computer would shut down. Same problem occurred last year (2015) and I could not even sit for it. This time around, I had just 30minutes to round off when power went off and I had to reboot and refill my answers in 25 minutes. JAMB must take power problem serious if it must continue with CBT.”

    Like a recurring decimal, poor organization and facilities are issues that marred JAMB CBT in many centers leading to poor results and many cancellations as experienced by some candidates who had issues with their results. Give it to JAMB, the results came swiftly and faster than previous ones as attested by the candidates, but not without misgivings.

    Kayode, who sat for his CBT at Anthony Village center said he got his result through a text message at midnight while Toyin got hers at 11:02 pm, same night of her exam. Nurudeen scored 211 and his alert came in at 2:04 am the following morning. However, complain trailed in some quarters. Bello, who punched his CBT is Abuja, received a not-seat alert, same for Oreoluwa who had hers in Ibadan. Another candidate Foluke, 17, in Ejigbo-Lagos, on first check, scored an aggregate of 156 and when the she rechecked, she had 196.

    In a swift reaction, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, has come up to hammer some centers following public protests in Lagos and Abuja by candidates and their parents over what they described as the many problems facing the CBT. The board had to cancel these centers following complaints of poor facilities provided by the centers’ administrators in Lagos. JAMB laid the blame on the doorstep of managers of the centers for failing to live up to the contractual agreement. Prof. Ojerinde informed that the board expected diligence and efficiency from all the centers following dutiful and careful selection.

    However, investigation carried out by The Nation revealed that the centers did not enjoy the huge financial and technical expertise available to JAMB. Ade, (not real name), 49, operates a cybercafé in a municipality along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and managed a CBT center in Ogun State. He faulted JAMB financial obligation to the centers, informing that it is grossly inadequate. “For what we have to provide to ensure that CBT exams are successfully conducted in each center, JAMB is paying us peanuts.

    For each candidate, JAMB promised to pay N600 and I have to obtain everything to make the examination works. We are to provide the computers,” he stated. This reporter counted 250 computer systems in four halls. I made these special desks in compliance with zero tolerance for exam cheats and malpractices. Then, a high band internet connection is part of the bill we had to bear. Also we had to contend with power generation,” he said.

    Ola had to engage the services of two 150 kilowatts generators for the duration of the exams. “For each, I paid N25, 000.00 daily rent, and then, I had to pay for diesel to power the generators.” For the halls rented for the exams, he paid N350, 000.00. “So, what do you think is left from the N2,400,000 that JAMB is paying me for 4000 candidates? He queried.

    Another contractor, Mike (Not real name), who spoke on phone from Iju-Lagos said JAMB did not advance any money in order to alleviate the huge spending in preparation for the CBT, to them. “I am indebted to many people now and to make it worse, I am yet to get any money from JAMB three weeks after. It was after we protested that the money was too small that they now compensated us with JAMB Registration Centers for the next year’s CBT exam. JAMB offered to pay N700 for each registered candidate,’ he explained.

    Way out

    Some stakeholders, however, feel different, though, majority believed in the efficacy of CBT if properly annexed. They

  • Proprietor calls for cancellation of JAMB computer exams

    Proprietor calls for cancellation of JAMB computer exams

    Dr. Femi Oyewole, National Chairman, Education Reformers Association of Nigeria, has called for total cancellation of the Computer examination conducted by JAMB last month for this year’s students admission into higher institutions in the country.

    In his welcome address at the seminar organized by The Association in collaboration with EMCOY Favour group of schools, Ogba, Lagos, yesterday.

    Dr. Oyewole, said if the computer examination was allowed to stay, thousands of students who would have got admissions into various higher institutions this year would be denied of such opportunities.

    Dr. Oyewole, who is the proprietor of the Emcoy group of schools, Ogba, explained that there was nothing wrong with computer exams: ”but this one recently conducted by JAMB was not only poorly organised but some of their staff were unskilled and deficient in carrying out the project”.

    Dr.  Oyewole, said his Association will be heading to the National Assembly, next week to encourage the assembly to encourage the assembly, not only to cancel the exams, but to also submit a private bill for the dissolution of JAMB completely as an organisation.

    Dr. Oywole, who is also a senior pastor of the Deeper Life Bible Church, said: ”JAMB is no more relevant to our educational system, as it was in our time. As an educationalist and a man of God, I feel bad seeing JAMB as a mere extortative organisation to the students and their parents. Let every higher institution conduct its own entrance examinations, as it was before JAMB”.

    1. Oyewole said further: ”The oncoming debate that JAMB results should have a lifespan of three years during which, a student could tender such for admission into higher institutions, is unnecessary. The right thing is for JAMB to be dissolved; the board’s performance is getting poorer every year and has become a cog in the wheel of the Nation’s educational progress”.

    He expressed disappointment over the attitude of some private schools in the nation, who failed to pay their workers regularly, proffering: ”In fact, it is not only wicked but satanic for anyone to engage somebody and at the end of the month, not pay him”.

    According to him, it would be difficult for a teacher, who was not paid at the end of the month to give right directions to the students, stressing that it was a shame of a nation, for some nations not to pay their workers, especially teachers at the end of the month.

    In his words: ”The standard of our education, will continue to fail if this trend is not corrected henceforth. How can you owe somebody, whether private or government, and be expecting him to perform. This is sheer wickedness and insensitivity. In fact, it is the worst evil a person can commit against his fellow human being.

    He then called on the Lagos state Government in particular to sanction any private school who failed to pay their teachers at the end of the month. He also advised the government to look into the poor quality of teachers being engaged by some of the private schools.

    He divulged: ”Our association has discovered that a lot of private schools in the country are mere glorified tutorial centres. Some of them employed as teachers are secondary school certificate holders and dropouts. Governments should step in before the total collapse of our educational systems.”

  • ASUU to National Assembly: reduce JAMB’s powers

    ASUU to National Assembly: reduce JAMB’s powers

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the National Assembly to restrict the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to the conduct of examination.

    It said the power granted JAMB to determine who gets admission into university was at variance with university’s autonomy.

    The union urged the National Assembly to revisit the proposal sent to it for the review of the Act setting up JAMB.

    ASUU’s National President Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge, who spoke to The Nation, frowned at the series of irregularities that characterised the Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    Fagge said the law of every university empowers its Senate to determine whom to admit, and not JAMB.

    The outgoing ASUU president lamented that but for some interest, the proposal would have sailed through.

    He said: “The union in the 2006-2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement observed that there is anomaly in JAMB. ASUU maintains that JAMB does not have the right to dictate to universities, who should be offered admission.

    “Our position is that JAMB should conduct the examination and results should be passed to universities, which determine which candidate is ideal for admission. ASUU insisted it is the responsibility of the university senate as enshrined in their laws to decide who is qualified to be a student in that university.

    “JAMB is violating universities’ autonomy by insisting it would determine who goes into which university. On the basis of that, ASUU was able to agree with the government on the need to review the Act setting up JAMB.  With all sense of modesty, we are able to draft a proposal for the review of JAMB and another proposal for the Bill on NUC (National Universities Commission) Act, and a bill for the National Minimum Standard Act.

    “These have been in the National Assembly and ASUU has been pursuing this to happen, but it has not probably because there are interests. However, we are saying we shall not give up on this.”

    Fagge described JAMB’s new multiple choice system, in which candidates are given an option of two universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, as against the dictates of the National Policy on Education.

    “To start with,” Fagge said, “that examination is not in tune with the National Policy on Education. We are talking of different levels of manpower- low, medium, high and then you bring all, irrespective of their interest and expected professionalism associated with what they are going to undertake, to sit for the examination. There may be somebody who though is very good, but prefers other institution than universities, maybe a college of education because he wants to be a teacher.

    “Now, you are forcing him to go to a university. Forget about this right to choose between universities, polytechnics and colleges as reviewed by JAMB. The fact remains that it is expected that whoever performs very high should automatically go to universities whether he is interested in universities or not.

    “We faulted UTME during a presentation by ASUU which I led as the president.  At present, UTME is becoming problematic and universities are finding some who are not interested in coming to university system.

    “To add more salt into the injury, some candidates have high marks in UTME but when you subject them to the nitty-gritty of classroom work, at the end, many of them fall into probation because they could not score a CGPA of 1.”

  • JAMB CBT: Nigeria must move forward with technology

    Following the conduct of the 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), various allegations have been flying around. From the outright ridiculous to the downright untrue, attempts have been made to discredit the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode of the examination, which replaced the Paper and Pencil Test (PPT), with some protesters even calling the Chief Executive/Registrar of the board, Emeritus Professor Dibu Ojerinde, unprintable names and calling for his sack.

    Is the attempt to discredit CBT and thereby force JAMB to return to the PPT mode, which many have agreed encourages malpractices and which the JAMB Registrar once noted was consuming time, human and financial resources, worthy? Are the protesters justified to ask for the sack of Professor Ojerinde? This is a man who has, in the last nine years at JAMB changed the face of the board and brought a relatively high level of credibility to its examination and, indeed, deployed technology to public examination in such a way that the country’s education sector now has hope.

    What exactly should be the way forward for the Federal Government, which has said the PPT mode would be restored? These and many more were the questions that came to mind in the midst of the orchestrated protests and name-calling that have greeted the 2016 UTME.

    For those who had the privilege of monitoring the conduct of the examination, whatever challenges the examination had, were not in its organisation. In fact, JAMB deserved commendations for the effective deployment of Information and Communication Technology for the examination, which saw to most candidates sitting for the examination in safe and relaxed atmospheres devoid of external influences and disturbances. Of particular interest was the organised manner in which the examination was conducted and the zero allowance for interference or avenues for examination malpractices, as parents and wards as well as external materials were far-removed from the venues of the examination.

    The challenges had begun when the board began the release of the results only about 24 hours after the examination. Some candidates claimed they had different versions of results within hours while mischief-makers went to town with claims of marks being added for some candidates. Some had even gone ahead to claim that JAMB was arbitrarily adding and subtracting marks after the candidates had finished the examination. But can these claims be right? Thank God that the House of Representatives’ Committee on Education has eventually clarified the House’s position and passed a vote of confidence in CBT. The statement of the committee’s chairman, last week, that Nigeria could not afford to return to PPT, more than anything, vindicated Ojerinde, whose brainchild the CBT is.

    Now, if, indeed, the spurious allegations and sponsored protests have any merit, the question those behind the protests should answer is why they want to set Nigeria backward by two decades by calling for the cancellation of CBT and why the needless calls for the sack of the JAMB Registrar. If, indeed, there were challenges with the 2016 UTME, wouldn’t it be more important to address the challenges rather than calling for the cancellation of CBT and the sack of the man who brought it to JAMB?

    A look at JAMB’s operations of the CBT, since its introduction, would reveal that the board has been adhering to the International Test Commission’s2005 version of the International Guidelines on Computer-Based and Internet Delivered Testing. In fact, the board introduced a mechanism to aid candidates who might have challenges with the testing by employing the managed mode of testing, which allows human supervision and control over the test-taking environment. Candidates who took the 2016 CBT would testify to having access to centre supervisors who readily helped with any difficulty relating to the systems and the testing procedure. Therefore, when the protests and the calls for Ojerinde’s sack erupted, one was forced to ask who those behind the protests are. Could it be true that they are the cabals that specialise in malpractices, whose businesses have been destroyed by the JAMB Registrar and his policies at the board?

    Interestingly, South Africa first developed Computer-Based Testing in the 1970s and it has been perfected and deployed over the years and the country adapted the guidelines drawn up by the International Test Commission. Today, that country has gone miles ahead in conducting credible public examinations through CBT. However, Nigeria, which is obviously laid back in terms of technology, only had the opportunity of CBT as late as three years ago when JAMB introduced the mode. When that decision was taken; experts had described it as a blessing to the education sector. It should be noted that many universities had begun to conduct Computer-Based Tests for intending applicants. Apart from Nigerian universities, several Nigerian candidates have had to face international examinations conduct via the internet such as SAT and TOEFL, among others, with many of them only coming in contact with the CBT mode of examination for the first time when they wrote those examinations. Therefore, when JAMB introduced CBT, not a few people had thought it adequate as a testing ground for future examinations in the Computer-Based mode.

    Now, with the position of the House Committee on Education that there would be no going back on CBT, there is hope that the gains recorded by the policy would not be reversed because it had teething problems. But in order to correct anomalies and make the system more efficient, JAMB, the Ministry of Education and others should evaluate the challenges and complaints about the CBT and subsequently improve on it to deliver more efficiently. The Federal Government and the National Assembly must also look at the endless possibilities available in CBT and create legal frameworks to support this mode of examination, so that rather than rue the challenges of the 2016 UTME, we can relish the potential of CBT for the future.

     

    • Alao writes via adealcommunications@gmail.com
  • Reps panel back-pedals on use of CBT by JAMB

    Reps panel back-pedals on use of CBT by JAMB

    House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education yesterday back-pedalled on the use of computer-based test (CBT) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions.

    The committee had earlier rejected the system.

    The House, in its sitting, had urged the Federal Government to direct JAMB to revert to the paper and pencil test (PPT) for candidates taking the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), following protest over the use of CBT.

     Chairman, House Committee on Basic Education Zakari Muhammed during a visit to one of the centres in Bwari, FCT, Abuja yesterday, told reporters that the use of CBT was in line with global practice to sanitised the education system

     He noted that the House never took a position on the use of CBT by JAMB.

    Muhammed added that the House only discussed the conduct of the examination by the board.

     He said those who wrote the examination outside Nigeria were leveraging on the flexibility and advantage of CBT.

     According to him, the use of PPT by candidate was cumbersome and characterised with several irregularities and unwholesome activities.

    “The House of Representatives Committee on Education is in support of the use of CBT by JAMB. The world is flying and we cannot be crawling.

     “Today, those candidates are writing a rescheduled examination some of whom are sick because of the flexibility of CBT without which they would not have had this opportunity,” he said.

    The chairman advised parents to be patient with the board, adding that the process was not as complex as it had been made to look.

    He called on JAMB to identify the hitches and address them, adding that the House would support JAMB in putting infrastructure together to see that the new examination regime was stress-free.

    Registrar, JAMB Prof. Dibu Ojerinde said the rescheduled examination was one of the flexibility of the CBT.

    According to him, the conduct of the rescheduled examinations for candidates, who missed the UTME because of change in centres, was due to the use of the CBT.

    He noted that the major objective of the board was to completely eliminate malpractice through the conduct of the CBT.

     “Only CBT has the capacity to address all the challenge of the conduct of public examination in the 21st century.

     “The 21st century child in Nigeria irrespective of where he or she comes from has no problem with CBT. The complexity developed by perpetrators of malpractice can never be detected by Paper and Pencil Test,” he said.

    Ojerinde noted that so far, over 37 per cent of candidates scored 200 and above compared to the 32 per cent last year.

    He added that 59 per cent scored 180 and above compared to the 55 per cent recorded last year.

     He said this year’s performance was better than last year’s exercise.

  • JAMB protests

    It is now clear all was not well with the conduct of the Unified Tertiary  Matriculation Examination (UTME) which was rounded off last week. If anything, pockets of protests across the country underscore vividly, the dissatisfaction of many of the candidates with the conduct and outcome of that examination.

    In Ilorin, Kwara state, scores of UTME candidates protested over alleged shoddy conduct of the examination which failed them for no fault of theirs. They complained of receiving different scores from text messages and printouts which in most cases reduced their scores by at least 40 marks. There were also issues bordering on computer malfunction, poor loading of questions and instructions that put some candidates at gross disadvantage.

    Some others especially those who took the examination in the first two days of its commencement complained of 40 marks awarded to some candidates as reflected in the disparities between the scores in text messages initially sent to them and the final printouts.

    In Lagos, the matter took a wider dimension as hundreds of candidates together with their parents and tutorial center operators went violent at the premises of the state house of assembly while protesting the outcome of the examination. They hauled pebbles at the gate of the assembly when no official was at hand to speak to them. Some were reportedly arrested. Their complaints were similar; some candidates had 40 marks added to their results while for others, there was a reduction by the same margin.

    JAMB has blamed the protests on education consultants whose Computer Based Test centers (CBT) were disqualified for the UTME due to their inability to meet stipulated standards. The board’s public relations officer, Dr. Fabian Benjamin has asked aggrieved candidates to be calm and avail themselves of the opportunities provided by its public complaints unit rather than allow themselves to be used by any selfish interests.

    He placed the blame of the protests squarely at the door steps of proprietors of centers which were previously approved for the test but later disallowed because they were found to be lacking in indices for the conduct of the CBT examinations. “It is surprising that these proprietors will turn around to organize candidates to protest over our activities, Benjamin said”

    JAMB’s accusation of proprietors whose centers were disqualified for instigating the protests may not be entirely out of place. This is more so given that candidates who applied for the UTME did so purely in their private capacities. Thus, it is not easily conceivable how such private candidates could organize themselves for the protests we have seen without external prompting. So if JAMB blames some external body for influencing the protests, there is reason to give that body the benefit of doubt.

    Moreover, in the case of the protests in Lagos, reports had it that tutorial center proprietors and some parents were part of the demonstration that turned violent leading to some arrests. This alone gives ample credence to the allegation by JAMB that the protests were instigated by those whose selfish business interests were dashed by the cancellation of their centers for observed inadequacies.

    But this will neither account for the presence of some parents in the protests in Lagos nor reduce the weight of the issues raised by the candidates in the various centers. The common thread running through all the complaints of the candidates was that 40 marks were added or subtracted from their results as reflected in the disparities between the results sent to them through text messages and the final computer printouts; computer malfunctioning, poor loading of questions and instructions and power outages. There were candidates who claimed to have received four different versions of the results.

    So irrespective of whatever interest proprietors of the disqualified centers had in the matter, such selfish interests had very little to do with the substantive issues raised by the candidates. Definitely a candidate who received two different versions of his scores from the examination body is bound to be apprehensive of the overall credibility of that exercise. This is more so when such results show disparities of a whopping 40 marks margin. The matter is even compounded by the revelation that some other candidates got as much as four different versions of the results. Definitely JAMB is to blame for this. One is quite certain that the key factor to the protests is the issue of multiple results. It is bound to raise suspicion and the candidates are right to impute any motive to it. The blame lies squarely at the table of the examination body. So even if the proprietors were propelled by selfish business interest to goad the candidates to the protests, the candidates saw sufficient reasons to be part of them.

    And they have no blame for that. Ironically, JAMB has remained mute on why it posted different versions of results to the candidates. It must speak up on this singular issue else those who have continued to fault its continued retention as an examination body may begin to attract some sympathy. It is not enough for Benjamin to ask aggrieved candidates to avail themselves of the opportunities provided by its public complaints unit in redressing observed shortcomings.

    The board’s attention has been sufficiently drawn to the inadequacies in its conduct of the last UTME examinations. The credibility of the results it awarded candidates has been put to serious question on account of the unreliability of the different versions of results it posted. It must come public and explain what brought about the mix up. Such explanation must indicate the sources of the error since the results, which are expected to be marked by the computer, are supposed to have a very high degree of accuracy.

    With such explanation, the general public will begin to come to terms with the reliability of the CBT examinations which JAMB has been experimenting in the last two years. So it is not enough for the board to be trumpeting the advantages which the new examination system has over the paper and pencil test.

    It is also not enough for the examination body to justify these lapses by concluding that “the worst CBT is better than the best Paper and Pencil Test” If the truth must be told, this statement cannot be supported by the outcome of the last outing of that examination body. The fact remains that by posting different versions of the results, the body has created serious doubts in the minds of the candidates on the credibility of the CBT option. Many candidates have by the same errors of omission or commission had their ambition to enter higher institutions this year prematurely aborted.

    It may well be that the CBT will turn out a great improvement on the previous mode of test that was prone to sundry malpractices. If after the first year of its operation, the CBT came out with serious flaws this year, it only indicates that the body has not done its home work very well and it should take the blame. The CBT may well prove better in the future. But the confusion it has generated this year will remain a sad commentary on the efficacy of that system of examination.

    In the environment we operate, it may not be entirely out of place for there to be some lapses during such tests. But the magnitude and dimension of the current one should sufficiently task JAMB to ensure that the future of candidates is neither compromised nor abridged by inefficiencies within its house. In all, it must undertake a serious review of the results that have been posted to the candidates to ensure they tally with their actual performance.

    Above all, the solution to the current fiasco does not lie in scraping the CBT option or having it run simultaneously with the paper and pencil variant as the House of Representatives has recommended. JAMB should be given some time to improve. But they must catch up immediately. The CBT option remains the right path to the future.

     

     

  • JAMB bows to protesting candidates

    JAMB bows to protesting candidates

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday said that the board would reschedule examination for candidates who missed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination because of relocation of centres by the board.

    The board said it relocated 59, 000 candidates in 15 states because of problems in some of the centres.

     It also said candidates who had system failure during the examination would retake it, if the board finds their complaint to be genuine.

     The Registrar of the board, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, who said this at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, added that the new development does not affect candidates who missed the examination deliberately or failed in the examination.

     He said among the 1,546,633 candidates that sat for the 2016 UTME, 145, 704 had issues of multiple results which have been resolved by the board.

    Prof. Ojerinde added that 23, 577 candidates were absent on the day of the examination.

     “We relocated candidates where the board had challenges. The board is looking at some of the issues raised during the examination, but most of the excuses raised by candidates are flimsy,” he said.

    “We relocated about 59, 000 candidates due to the problems in various centres which vary from town to town. There are about 59,000 of them spread across 15 states of the federation.

     “Those that were relocated never suffered any setback or inconvenience. For all these two sets of people, I want to apologise sincerely for what happened to them, but we are going to put on a redress for those whose relocation affected them in missing their examination.

     “Let me use this opportunity to offer explanation on the issue of the much-publicized two results. The process of our marking involves transformation and other qualitative programming. In the process of these configurations, we had a little challenge which we quickly corrected and ensured that this never happened in subsequent results. This challenge was only associated with the candidates that sat for this examination on Saturday, 27, and some candidates of Monday, 29 February, 2016.”

     Prof. Ojerinde said the board found out that some of the over 500 centres used for the CBT was compromised by the operators.

     He said that one of its centres in Uromi, Edo State was invaded by mercenaries during the examination.

     He blamed the education consultants for mobilizing candidates to protest against the conduct of the examination by the board, adding that the quality of the centres used for UTME would not be compromised.

     “In our quest to have adequate and effective centres for the exercise, we approved over 500 centres, but unfortunately, some of the centre operators were not sincere in proving us with the true position of their facilities.

     “They hired equipment during the period of accreditation and other necessary apparatus and on the examination day, they were found wanting. This led to relocation or rescheduling of candidates from some of them to more suitable centres.

     He said Nigeria was ready to take the CBT examination, adding that reverting to the PPT as directed by the House of Representatives would amount to lack of progress.

     According to him, the CBT would be improved upon.

     “Even the physically challenged are taking the CBT examination. One of the blind candidates scored 286, so why should others complain?

     “Going back to the Paper and Pencil Test will amount to taking one step forward and two steps backwards,” he said.

  • Reps to Fed Govt: direct JAMB to suspend computer-based exams

    Reps to Fed Govt: direct JAMB to suspend computer-based exams

    THE House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to direct the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to suspend the computer-based 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination test.

    The decision of the House followed the adoption of the prayers of a motion brought under matters of urgent public importance by a member, Oghene Egoh (PDP-Lagos).

    The lawmaker said there was need for JAMB to revert to the paper examination until the board was ready to conduct a hitch-free Computer-Based Test (CBT).

    According to him, over a million candidates, who sat for the computer-based UTME, recorded technical hitches.

    The technical hitches, he said, jeopardised the candidates’ chances of getting admission into the universities.

    His words: “Already, a serious admission problem is rocking the nation because JAMB receives huge allocation from Federal Government every year.

    “Yet they charge candidates all manner of fees and majority of the children do not get admission either because of the technical hitches of the CBT or the post-UTME introduced by tertiary institutions,” Egor said.

    He added that while some candidates are getting conflicting scores in the exercise, others are complaining of malfunctioning computers.

    Aishatu Dukku (APC-Gombe) noted that JAMB is not ready for the computer-based option, adding that the board should “make it optional for students whether they will like to use computer-based or pen and paper” examinations.

    But a member, Mohammed Zakari (APC-Kwara), said students in Diaspora, who are participating in the examination, should be considered.

    Speaker Yakubu Dogara, in his ruling, mandated the House Committee on Education to liaise with the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure compliance and report back to the House within one week.

  • JAMB candidates protest at Lagos Assembly

    JAMB candidates protest at Lagos Assembly

    Scores of candidates of the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), who stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly Tuesday to protest alleged maltreatment by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in the examination, threw stones at the security gate and personnel manning the gate in the Assembly to ventilate their anger after waiting for hours without being attended to by the lawmakers.

    Some of the students, who were angered by the failure of the speaker or any lawmaker in the Assembly to attend to them in time were molested and arrested by members of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), who had been mobilised to prevent them from entering the Assembly premises.

    The students sang solidarity songs to register their anger with the authority of JAMB and the Assembly.

    The over 200 candidates, who wrote this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation  Examination called for the removal of  Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, Director of Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) over the alleged mismanagement of UTME examination during the protest to the Assembly.

    One of the affected candidates, Okelola Samson said that he read rigorously for the examination, but that JAMB gave him 170 marks which was against his expectation.

    According to him, for the past two weeks, JAMB has been sending results that was not in tandem with our expectations. We expected good result but we were disappointed at the management with the series of marks they were sending to our phones.

    “I am sure 170 was not my score and I am using this opportunity to call on the House of Assembly and the Federal Government to investigate this hiccup with JAMB,” he pleaded.

    It was gathered that other protesting candidates shouted at the frontage of the Assembly that Prof. Dibu must leave as the Director of JAMB.

    Another candidate, Adebisi Shonupe also shared his experience, and said that all the efforts put into the exam proved abortive with the action of JAMB.

    “Dibu is marking down candidates to pave way for private universities and also deduct the scores of the candidates at his own discretion. We also received some of our results before we write the exam,” the candidates said.

    According to them, JAMB changed exam venues without proper notification and over 10,000 candidates missed the UTME exam. He is also selling change of institution and change of course e-card, while the exam was still in progress.

    The inscription on the placards included: “My system went off and nothing was done. Kilode! You all have children.”

    The Director of Next Level Academy, Abayomi Arowolo, who was an instructor to the candidates, said what JAMB did was injustice.

    “After the candidates finished the examinations, JAMB added 40 marks to their scores and later removed it from the candidates’ scores. Some of the candidates are still writing the exam, so the Commission should be called to order.”

    The House of Assembly had not attended to the students as the time of filling this story.

  • JAMB hopeful on CBT improvement

    An official of JAMB, Mr. Clement Ojo, says the ongoing UTME, on the all Computer Based Test (CBT) platform, would be improved upon with time.

    Ojo, who is supervising a centre in Yaba, gave this assurance in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

    According to him, since the total migration of the examination on the CBT platform, it has stemmed incidences of examination malpractices drastically.

    He said that the platform has also proved cost effective and reduced stress for the candidates, their parents and the board generally.

    “Since we started this year’s examination for instance, it has been hitch-free.

    “The candidates themselves are already armed with the schedules of their examination and they come in for the examination and go happily.

    “The development is a far cry from what used to obtain in the past when the Paper Pencil Test (PPT) mode was still in place.

    “With the current development, it can only get better with time as the board will continue to research and deploy more modern technology in ensuring that it sustained global best practices in the conduct of public examinations,’’ he said.

    Ojo said that more than 1.8 million candidates registered for this year’s examination across 400 centres, both within and outside the country.

    The examination, which started on Saturday, Feb. 27, is expected to be concluded on March 15.