Reps Urge An End To Computer Based Testing For Utme Exams

SAN FRANCISCO, March 17, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to direct Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) to suspend the computer based 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination test.

The decision followed the unanimous adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Oghene Egor (PDP-Lagos) on Thursday.

The lawmaker while moving the motion 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).

“Already serious admission problem is rocking the nation because already JAMB receives huge allocation from Federal Government every year,” he said.

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

He added that candidates were getting conflicting results in the ongoing exams, dashing the hope of many candidates that are seeking admission citing a number of examples.

“There were instances of double-option answers, computers were malfunctioning and suddenly short down causing absurdity that place some candidates in disadvantaged position.”

“Ibrahim Shawulu from Kogi State scored 399 out of 400, but in less than 24 hours another result surfaced reducing Shawulu’s score to 199 and Foluke, a 17-year-old girl in Ejigbo -Lagos scored an aggregate of 156 in the first result while in the result that later came out, she had an aggregate of 195.

“Miracle Okaifoh, who was late to an examination centre in Ogun State, was not able to log-in for the exams. When the results were released, he initially got none. Prompted by friends, he rechecked and discovered he had received results for an examination he could not log-in to write, he claims.

“Chiamaka Okoye in Imo State complained bitterly that when her computer shut down, she started all over but still could not complete the examination. She scored 219 marks and believed she would have done better, if not for the technical hitches,” he said.

Hon. Aishatu Dukku, APC-Gombe, in her intervention opined that JAMB was not ready for the computer based option, adding that JAMB should “make it optional for students on whether to use computer based or pen and paper.”

However, Hon. Mohammed Zakari, APC-Kwara, said there was a need to consider students in Diaspora who were participating in the examination, saying the computer-based option would enable them participate in the examination.

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

Story by David Oputah