JAMB says electricity challenges will not destroy Computer Based Testing

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has assured that electricity problems would not destroy the proposed Computer Based Test (CBT) to be introduced during the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

The Board’s Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, disclosed this on Wednesday, during a two- day working tour of educational institutions in Lagos State, meant to sensitise stakeholders on the need for the CBT in subsequent examinations.

Ojerinde, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the tour that the board had put all necessary infrastructure in place nationwide, to ensure that the takeoff of the CBT from 2013, was successful.

``We are mindful of the challenges that are facing the power sector currently, but I want to assure all that this will by no means affect the conduct of the examination.

``That area has been effectively taken care of in all our proposed centres nationwide.

``We have been accrediting examination centres, individuals are participating, members of the public are participating; but in accrediting such centres, we want to also ensure that certain facilities are on ground.

``There must be standard facilities, there must be security, there must be electricity, which of course, we know is critical to this examination.

``These days, we do not rely so much on the PHCN and so, all our accredited centres must have generators, UPS, inverters, so that in case of any technical hitch, the examinations would still go on,” the JAMB boss said.

He told NAN that every accredited centre must measure up to standard before it could be used for the conduct of the examination.

According to him, the board is already working with computer based testing centres to ensure that the 2013 examination recorded the required success.


`` What is remaining is for the candidates to avail themselves of the opportunity of ICT training, the way they have familiarised themselves with the use of their GSM phones.

``Instead of going to the cyber cafés and misusing their time on irrelevant things, they should engage themselves meaningfully by getting useful information on the operations of the computer.

``There are e-testing centres everywhere; let the candidates go there and learn, so that they would not find anything difficult on the day of the examination,” he said.

Ojerinde told NAN that if the country was to catch up with the rest of the world technologically, its citizens must ensure that they were ICT-compliant.

He said that the CBT would ensure prompt delivery of raw scores, eliminate cases of incomplete results and also check examination malpractice.

In a brief remark, the Provost, College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Dr Sijibunmi Olusanya, lauded the initiative of the board and said it would improve the quality of prospective students in tertiary schools. (NAN