THE inept Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board is at it again. And its Registrar, Dibu Ojerinde, has brought impunity to a spectacular climax by turning technology on its head. It is a nightmare for thousands of candidates taking this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination across the country, using the newly- introduced Computer-Based Test format. Reports of a dearth of computers, failure of internet servers, power failure, slow booting of computers, loss of time in the process, and offering
candidates’ subjects they never registered for are widespread. Worse still, JAMB exposed the candidates to extreme danger and unnecessary stress by fixing some of the tests at 6.00am. Ojerinde and his team should go back to the drawing board.

It is acknowledged that all tests will one day be delivered on a computer of some sorts because of its many benefits. Experts say, among other advantages, computer testing is more efficient than paper-based tests. It also offers year-round testing, flexibility in scheduling and faster score reporting. But JAMB is definitely not ready for the programme. Many candidates who have already taken the test left the exam halls crest- fallen as a result, unsure of recording scores high enough to secure them admissions. This prospect hurts, more so when many have made countless attempts in the past. Undoubtedly, candidates yet to sit the exam will face similar challenges. A total of 1,475,477 candidates registered for the CBT at 400 centres, scheduled to end on March 21.

Why did JAMB opt for this format? Ojerinde rhapsodised about its flexibility, swiftness in processing results, reduction of cheating and conformity with global trends. He said, “We have gone digital in JAMB. What we are going to do now is to make use of computers and, within a week, the results will be on the internet. Unlike before when we were using the analogue style, the new scheme will stop malpractices.” We agree.

But as innovative and modern as this arrangement is, it nevertheless bears testimony to our national predilection for replicating policies that have succeeded elsewhere, even when our country is not ready for them or when officials are not up to the task. The key issue in the CBT format is whether JAMB or the country has the capacity to embark on this information technology cruise.

Did JAMB think of the technical challenge of
setting up enough computers, probably moving
many of them from their usual positions,
checking their discs, software and networking
connections, and supervising them? In 2001, the
University of Cambridge Local Examinations
Syndicate suggested a trial over three or more
years in which Information Communications
Technology-based teaching and testing ran
parallel with traditional GCSE/A-Levels in the
United Kingdom. The report said, “Clearly a great
deal of detail needs to be worked out.”
Evidently, the safety and convenience of the
young candidates did not matter to an
insensitive JAMB. In Lagos, Nigeria’s industrial
haven, where the difficulties were expected to be
minimal, the shortage of CBT centres were well
pronounced to the point that JAMB had to
register some candidates in neigbouring states of
Ogun, Osun and Kwara. Others from the city
travelled to the border town of Badagry, a
journey of about four hours with the usual Lagos
traffic snarl. Candidates billed to sit the test on
March 12 at Command Secondary School, Ipaja,
Lagos, learnt of the change of venue to the
WAEC Agidingbi office, Ikeja, only when they had
reported at the former.

At the Certified Institute of Shipping, Magbon,
one of the centres at Badagry, a candidate’s
parent, identified simply as Mrs. Adeola, testified
that “when the candidates arrived at the exam
centre… they were told that JAMB provided the
centre with just 250 laptops. Of these, only 150
were confirmed to be functioning that morning.
Following this development, the candidates were
divided into two batches.

“While the first batch was to begin its exams by
7 am, the second batch was billed to commence
by 10 am … the first batch and second batch
neither took the exams, as the JAMB officials at
the centre complained that the centre’s server
had been down since morning.” Pathetic!
Indeed, countries that have advanced in ICT
never did so through wishful thinking, but
through rigorous planning and execution driven
by well funded educational road maps. But where
is Nigeria? How many schools boast computers
and teachers for the candidates to have
mastered the rudiments of computer operation?
Worse, our embarrassing electricity supply level
does not support this examination mode.
It is obvious that a majority of the candidates for
this year’s UTME learnt how to fiddle with
computer keyboards on their own. No formal
training. This was not how other countries made
it. “The major problem is that some of the
candidates do not know how to operate the
system,” Abdulmajid Yusuf, an ICT manager at
the Federal University of Technology, Akure, one
of the exam centres, attested.

Candidly, JAMB, a creation of military decree in
1978, has done violence to our federal system,
and to the 1999 Constitution, which places
education on the Concurrent List. Besides, the
post-UTME test which candidates are subjected
to by universities, which suggests a vote of no
confidence in its continued existence, has
rendered it otiose. Therefore, it should be
scrapped.

If this is done, it will help the universities to
rediscover themselves. The prerogative to admit
students is one of the irreducible elements of
university autonomy known globally. Restoring
this identity to our ivory towers will help uproot
one of the roots of the rot bedevilling them –
poor quality of input and its corollary of
worthless degrees. We see no reason why our
own universities cannot insist on this.
The Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau, has
a responsibility to intervene: his silence so far
suggests complicity and the usual indifference of
Nigeria’s officials to the plight of the citizens
they are supposed to serve.

Unfortunately, Nigerians have become accustomed to official impunity. Fixing an examination at 6.00am in a place like Lagos with the usual traffic gridlock is inhuman and thoughtless. Parents who strongly feel that JAMB has unduly exposed their children to danger should seek judicial redress. We enjoin governors to empower their state universities to pull out of JAMB’s clumsy hegemony. When candidates fail woefully this year, it would not be because they were ill-prepared for the test, but because of the
inadequacies of the CBT platforms and the misplaced national obsession with attempting to run before crawling.

Nigeria has no shortage of grim examples of corruption-driven and carelessly handled programmes. This is just one of them. This year’s UTME was a charade that shares the same umbilical cord with Abba Moro’s bloody recruitment to the Nigeria Immigration Service last year. It stands denounced.

www.punchng.com/editorials/jambs-muddled-up-computer-based-tests/

The one written on Thursday, March 12th is a big Flop
Saying that dis years Jamb exam is a failure, is an understatement.
Infact am deeply pained after spending sleepless nights to read and prepare for jamb, then at the end i will be rewarded with a Devastating result...This is so heart breaking;-(
The JAMB officials should in their right mind and conscience re-schedule the exam for March 12, to be re-sitted for to curb this nuisance
This is my Ordeal : https://www.nairaland.com/2200549/thread-jambites-wrote-exam-march

help me ask them

I couldn't believe after killing that exams ,jamb ended up giving me low mark ,whereas I have a friend that did not even complete his exams and was given 287 despite the guy saying he didn't prepare well and he was not expecting a good result, he was shocked after seeing his result....

jamb just dey bleep up !!!

Dnarvaez:
The one written on Thursday, March 12th is a big Flop
Saying that dis years Jamb exam is a failure, is an understatement.
Infact am deeply pained after spending sleepless night to read and prepare for jamb, then at the end i will be rewarded with a Devastating result...This is so heart breaking;-(
The JAMB officials should in their right mind and conscience re-schedule the exam for March 12, to be re-sitted for to curb this nuisance
This is my Ordeal : https://www.nairaland.com/2200549/thread-jambites-wrote-exam-march

So painful.

I think the problem with JAMB as with other facets of our societal life is that the administrators are more interested in the huge offcuts they get from awarding collateral contracts than in the efficiency of the system and service delivery. That's wy dey keep churning out policies without regard to stark realities. It's quite unfortunate.

Provie:


So painful.

I think the problem with JAMB as with other facets of our societal life is that the administrators are more interested in the huge offcuts they get from awarding collateral contracts than in the efficiency of the system and service delivery. That's wy dey keep churning out policies without regard to stark realities. It's quite unfortunate.

Thank u for ur sincere contribution. To tell you if you were in our hall that day when we were writing the exam; you would have seen the great suffering 'son of man' passed through, just in the struggle for securing certificates

Joeself1:
help me ask them

I couldn't believe after killing that exams ,jamb ended up giving me low mark ,whereas I have a friend that did not even complete his exams and was given 287 despite the guy saying he didn't prepare well and he was not expecting a good result, he was shocked after seeing his result....

jamb just dey bleep up !!!

Too bad...! So what's ur score actually?

Dnarvaez:

Too bad...! So what's ur score actually?

they gave me 230 when I was expecting nothing less than 280

Joeself1:

they gave me 230 when I was expecting nothing less than 280

Bro urs is good na
compared to mine
I did only English and Chemistry; was at no. 17 in maths when the system submit my exam without my approval. I didn't touch physics at all

Dnarvaez:

Thank u for ur sincere contribution. To tell you if you were in our hall that day when we were writing the exam; you would have seen the great suffering 'son of man' passed through, just in the struggle for securing certificates

My younger sister was to sit hers by 10am; I called her by 5pm to say, hey hw did it go? She said dey were just about to enter d hall. I was like, hell, hadn't she better abandon d sh+t. She has yet to get her result though.

For me, taking an exam wit shattered psychology is 40% of the mark lost. JAMB still missing Bello Salim.

Dnarvaez:

Bro urs is good na
compared to mine
I did only English and Chemistry; was at no. 17 in maths when the system submit my exam without my approval. I didn't touch physics at all

Gosh
wetin com be ur score?

Dnarvaez:

Bro urs is good na
compared to mine
I did only English and Chemistry; was at no. 17 in maths when the system submit my exam without my approval. I didn't touch physics at all

Very unfair. Someone's future being toyed with!

Provie:


My younger sister was to sit hers by 10am; I called her by 5pm to say, hey hw did it go? She said dey were just about to enter d hall. I was like, hell, hadn't she better abandon d sh+t. She has yet to get her result though.

For me, taking an exam wit shattered psychology is 40% of the mark off. JAMB still missing Bello Salim.

You know that Naija cant do without African-time
So which day did she attempt her exam? Probably March 12th i guess becoz folks dat wrote their exam on March 12th have not gotten their result till now.

Joeself1:

Gosh
wetin com be ur score?

*sobs* they manage to give me 148 imagine if i had finished the exam

Dnarvaez:

You know that Naija cant do without African-time
So which day did she attempt her exam? Probably March 12th i guess becoz folks dat wrote their exam on March 12th have not gotten their result till now.

Yepp. 12th.

Provie:


Yepp. 12th.

Ok. She can check it manually from the Jamb result portal(site) with just her registration number, but make sure you pray well before doing that

Dnarvaez:

Ok. She can check it manually from the Jamb result portal(site) with just her registration number, but make sure you pray well before doing that

Ok, thanks. Bt she shud be d one praying; I wil be joining her in the "Amen!!" Lolz

Provie:


Ok, thanks. Bt she shud be d one praying; I wil be joining her in the "Amen!!" Lolz

lols! U are correct. Buh u can pray for her na... That's called intercession

Dnarvaez:

*sobs* they manage to give me 148 imagine if i had finished the exam

oops
have you tried checking it on desktop, heard they increased some candidate scores

Since 12th they r still showing no result, my God is alive,#Godwin# no matter What....

Joeself1:

oops
have you tried checking it on desktop, heard they increased some candidate scores

Ok. Will do that right away. Thanks

MrsAnyanwu:
Since 12th they r still showing no result, my God is alive,#Godwin# no matter What....

Ma'am i juz finished checking the portal and it seems the server is nt stable for na. Don't panick everytin will come bak to normal, i wrote mine on 12th too nd i've checked mine. Just keep trying it nd definitely it will work out for u

Dnarvaez:

Ok. Will do that right away. Thanks

good
sharply do that cos we all gonna celebrate this year

Joeself1:
help me ask them

I couldn't believe after killing that exams ,jamb ended up giving me low mark ,whereas I have a friend that did not even complete his exams and was given 287 despite the guy saying he didn't prepare well and he was not expecting a good result, he was shocked after seeing his result....

jamb just dey bleep up !!!

On a different note, do u kno u can prepare and write "very well" but score much less dan the one who never prepared "very well"?. The negative marking thing is real and works like magic. I'm talking from my own personal experience.

My niece wrote 10am paper around 5pm,at a center at Magbon..

Later learnt some candidate wrote theirs at 3am the next morning..they had to sleep at the exam venue.

So much for the cbt exam.

Jamb fvck up big time.

Joeself1:

good
sharply do that cos we all gonna celebrate this year

Amen ooo!!!!!

MrsAnyanwu:
Since 12th they r still showing no result, my God is alive,#Godwin# no matter What....

Wrote on 12th just got ma result 244 so hold on and keep checking had 30 minutes remaining d logged me off thank GOD only had 7 maths questions remaining.dibu needs to be sacked or beta stil jamb scrapped