The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has announced its resolve to abolish Computer Based Test, CBT, method for Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examination, UTME, due to low computer literacy level of
candidates.
The board said it has in collaboration with a private institute
resolved to set up dedicated UTME centres for visually impaired
candidates in Abuja, Lagos and Kano in 2018.
Registrar of the board, Professor Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede,
disclosed this in Kaduna on Wednesday, saying the board would not revert
to the old paper and pencil mode, but an eight-keys device.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Strategic Planning Retreat on
Monitoring and Supervision of 2017 UTME in Kaduna, Professor Oloyede
said the eight-keys device would eradicate the challenge of computer
illiteracy and phobia for mouse by some candidates.
According to him, “From the general feedback on the adoption of the
Computer Based Test mode, we have noted the challenge of computer low
level literacy of some candidates, especially with the phobia for the
mouse. This has been responsible partly for the call by some people for
reversal to the Paper and Pencil Test mode.
“In order to ensure equity and level playground for all candidates
taking Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, the Board has
designed a system that will allow candidates use only eight keys without
the use of mouse.
“All the candidates need to do is to press the letters A,B,C,D for
responses to questions and keys: P, N, S and R representing; previous
question, next question, submit and reverse, respectively.”
Speaking on the new arrangements for the visually impaired
candidates, the JAMB Registrar said, Digital Bridge Institute in
partnership with the board had agreed to set up three dedicated centres
in Abuja, Lagos and Kano in 2018, adding that, the board will support
the centres with necessary inputs.
He explained that ahead of 2018, when the project of dedicated
centres would come to fruition, the board has reached an understanding
with the association for the blind persons in Nigeria and blind students
in Lagos that an abridged approach would be used for the 2017 UTME.
He added that all prospective blind candidates would be invited to
three centres in the country for special assessment in their subjects of
choice and relevance to their desired courses and programmes.
Professor Oloyede while addressing the participants, most of whom are
external Supervisors and other stakeholders drawn from various tertiary
institutions and education sector, said all concerned stakeholders must
take UTME as their own and make it a project.
The JAMB boss said, “It is not enough for Politically Exposed Persons
(PEP) to visit examination centres with sirens and large entourage of
government functionaries with very little impact to show for their
participation, other than to be under television camera lights and
beamed same to the whole world, yet, the outcome of the examination is
laced with stories of examination malpractice. This time around, the
major players with requisite integrity, intelligence and appropriate
knowledge of the assessment would be fully engaged to actively
participate in the supervision of the examination.”