IF the assertion of the Minister of Education, the Federal Government is committed to the planned migration of examinations by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) from pen and paper examination to computer -based test in 2026. That is just 12 months away.
The minister hinted at the agenda after monitoring the conduct of a micro WAEC computer- based test examinations in Abuja. The schools where the CBT examinations took place had the relevant ICT equipment in place, with a 24-hour electricity supply. In fact, it is only in Abuja that enjoys that level of electricity access.
Excited by the relative success of the CBT examination, he pointed out the advantages inherent in transitioning to the novel system, which the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Examination (JAMB) pioneered earlier. They include eliminating examination fraud, simplifying examination process, preventing hacking of the system and guaranteeing fairness and examination integrity.
We quite agree with the innovations being packaged by the Federal Government to improve the conduct of public examinations across the country. Such strategies would make the administration of examinations cost-efficient and like the Education minister said enhance the integrity of our education. It is a welcome development.
But we are constrained to direct attention to seeming impediments to the implementation of the strategic educational objective in just 12 months. Firstly, we must point out for the federal administration to note that the micro CBT examination that the minister monitored was conducted under a cozy atmosphere, with the necessary tools in place. That atmosphere is not a true reflection of what obtains in virtually all urban and rural secondary schools in the 36 states of the federation and even parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
There is a huge deficit in the supply of public electricity in both urban and rural areas to make the Federal Government implement the game plan in such a short span of time. Besides, the schools are not equipped yet with the necessary ICT facilities to actualize the examination model in both urban and rural schools, including those in riverine communities. We wonder how such examination can effectively take place in the typical rural village in Northern Nigeria or in the riverine Niger Delta Region.
Moreover, majority of teachers nationwide are not computer-literate to undertake such simple yet challenging task of teaching and supervising CBT examination. We are talking about millions of teachers. Perhaps the minister has an eye on using the JAMB template to conduct the WAEC/NECO examinations. The recent JAMB examination showed clearly how vulnerable the system could be. There were incidences of hacking and glitches in the process as confirmed by the examination body. So what is the guarantee that such glitches and hacking would not catch up with the proposed CBT system for WAEC and NECO?
In our considered view, this brilliant idea of migrating to CBT examination for senior secondary school certificate examinations should be given more time before implementing it. This would enable the government at the national and sub -national levels to adequately prepare the schools for the eventual take off of the scheme. For instance, schools already certified as examination centres should have examination halls equipped with computers and ancillary facilities for the examinations. The schools, must as of necessity, be provided with uninterrupted electricity supply like the Abuja schools.
Additionally, the teachers must be trained and re-trained with regard to the innovation. And very importantly, top notch security must be engaged for the safety of the examination equipment, which means recruiting able-bodied men and women, not frail, old persons, for the protection of the facilities.
The federal and state governments should put in place all of the above requirements before the takeoff of the CBT WAEC/NECO examinations in 2026. We hope all of them can be in place before then;otherwise, the date of commencement should be shifted for thorough preparation to be made. We do not believe in rushing the implementation of such a strategic scheme.
