President Goodluck Jonathan has endorsed the Computer Based Test (CBT) introduced by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in the conduct of her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
According to JAMB’s Head of Public Relations, Fabian Benjamin, the President dropped this hint in Netherlands when he met with the officials of the Netherlands examination body otherwise called CITO.
He pointed out that his administration places much premium on qualitative education, expansion of access and making the sector model among comity of great nations.
Benjamin said President Jonathan thumbed up the progress made so far by the Board in administering her test through Computer Based Test (CBT) and the consolidation efforts of the new examination regime, expressing optimism that the introduction would revolutionize the education sector.
He promised to ensure that the Board has enough centres to conduct the Computer Based Test.
The President also stressed the need for closer collaboration with the CITO whom he said has garnered over ten (10) years experience in the conduct of e-testing and other forms of electronic innovations in the administration of public examinations.
The Registrar of JAMB, Professor ‘Dibu Ojerinde while briefing the President at the gathering noted that the collaboration has put the Board in a better pedestrian to administer the test saying that though the experience has not been without challenges but the Board was poised to confront the challenges frontally and convert the seemingly challenges to opportunities.
He explained to the President that last year the Board had about Fifty-Five (55) centres with only about a Hundred Thousand candidates for the Computer Based Test. However, with the success of the test last year more of the UTME candidates have indicated interest in the CBT.
He said the exercise this year will be taking place in about One Hundred and Fifty-Three (153) Centres with over Six Hundred Thousand candidates across the nation.
Prof Ojerinde pointed out that the wind of change is on and Nigeria being a leading country in Africa cannot be left out, even as he said that other African countries like Tanzania has partnered with JAMB on Item Response Theory (IRT) training and to study the JAMB experience for their country adoption and trials for Computer Based Test (CBT).
The Computer Based Test (CBT) was introduced by JAMB in its determination to sanitize the sector and curb hydra-dreaded monsters such as examination malpractice, result black-out or incomplete results and other unethical behaviours capable of undermining the Paper Pencil Test hitherto conducted by the Board.
The paperless test also enhances prompt release of raw score, greater standardization of test administration, is reliable, flexible, simple to administer and eliminates high cost of logistics and hectic planning for the examination.
