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2015 UTME: Challenges before JAMB's 'dream'(Weekly Trust (Nigeria) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Weeks into the commencement of registration by prospective candidates for the 2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), it is obvious from the guidelines put in place that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has 'perfected' plans to actualize its yearlong dream of phasing out PencilPaper Test (PPT); making ComputerBased Test (CBT) as the only mode of testing all candidates in the UTME. The registration period for the current exercise is Monday September 15, 2014 to Thursday January 15, 2014. Unlike in the past when candidates registered at any cyber cafe in the country, JAMB has listed designated CBT centers in all states of the federation where candidates could register for the 2015 UTME. In an advertisement published in the Friday October 3, 2014 edition of Daily Trust, JAMB listed 177 venues as accredited registration centers. JAMB zonal offices and tertiary institutions located in states are included on the list of registration centers. While 6 of the 177 registration centers are located abroad with one each in London, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Ghana, Benin Republic and Cote D'voire; there are 171 registration centers only to cater for the over one million prospective candidates in Nigeria. Three positions or facts can be inferred from this arrangement. One, the PPT has been phased out of the UTME; making the CBT the only mode available for every candidate that registers to write the examination. Two, given the annual conservative figure of 1.5million UTME candidates, each of the 171 centers in the country shall have an average of over 8,000 candidates to register, which in my 'analogue opinion', is huge enough for a center to cope with. Although JAMB deserves the benefit of doubt, some Nigerians wonder at why the number of centers in the country had to be limited to 171. After all, every registration center requires to be accredited and the process made to be fraudproof. The distribution of registration centers across states of the federation also raises questions which answers can only be provided by JAMB. It would thus be liberal and modest of JAMB to explain to Nigerians the criteria used for the distribution. Many people wonder at how Ogun state, for instance, got 15 registration centers which is equivalent to the total number of such centers in 6 northern states (of Taraba 3; Sokoto 2; Zamfara 3; Gombe 2; Bauchi 3; and Borno 2) put together. Was it also demographic factors or schools' statistics that gave Lagos 13 registration centers and left Kano with 5? What also is the factor that allocated 7 centers to Edo state and 3 centers only to Enugu state? How come Plateau and Kebbi states each got 2 centers while Bayelsa state has 4? Why are the northern states of Jigawa, Nasarawa and Kogi having only one center each? Beyond these insinuations, however, are critical infrastructural challenges (to be discussed shortly) which could make CBT for all candidates difficult. It would be recalled that JAMB's Registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, announced during a sensitization programme organized at the Federal University of Technology, Akure for secondary school students in September 2013 that the PPT would be phased out in the 2015 UTME. Prof. Ojerinde told the participating students that CBT is as easy as the food they take; adding that 'anybody who can use a handset should be able to do the test'. I hope this is true of all Nigerian students! Ojerinde's dream for the UTME is worthwhile given the scale of irregularities and malpractice, delay in the release of UME results, cases of missing results and several other technical challenges that hitherto bedeviled JAMB at one time. JAMB certainly deserves a pat on the back for overcoming most of the lapses. The timely release of UTME results within one week from date of the examination is a record that makes JAMB the only examination body among other testing institutions to beat. JAMB's efforts at fighting examination malpractice and misconduct have been substantially effective. JAMB has in recent years actually done well in this and other unmentioned areas. However, JAMB's target to subject all candidates to CBT in the 2015 UTME is in the opinion of many Nigerians highceilinged. When JAMB declared this worthy vision last year, the National Assembly passed a resolution that mandated the examination body to put its CBT plans for the 2015 UTME, as justified as they were, on hold. Even the fraudulent collaboration between cyber cafes and examination fraudsters is one good reason for JAMB to make CBT the only testing mode for UTME. However, the law makers too had genuine reasons that prompted their position. The greatest threat to JAMB's decision is the current state of the very unstable supply of electricity in many parts of the country. CBT may not be easy in an educational system where students in their 6th year of secondary education especially in public schools may never have on their own started and shutdown a computer machine. How could students have had any basic literacy in ICT when many school principals do not have even one desktop in their offices? Talking of computer appreciation among students would be considered ambitious by a government that sees nothing wrong in failing to equip laboratories and libraries. Beside the power outage that is more critical in villages, internet coverage is yet to cover many villages and suburban towns which schools serve as examination centers. The country's unsecured cyberspace is another threat to the CBT which conduct depends on the internet. Fraudsters could hack the website and get examination questions filtered to millions of smart phones. For all these challenges, it is better that JAMB in the actualization of its ambition errs on the side of caution. Tasu'a and 'Ashura: Muslims are reminded of the prophetic tradition of the Prophet (SAW) which recommends voluntary fast on the ninth (called Tasu'a) and tenth (called 'Ashura) of the Islamic lunar month of Muharram. Although, there are reports that Friday October 24, 2014 is considered as 1st Muharram in parts of the country, this column encourages Muslims in Nigeria to go by the Sultan's official declaration of Saturday October 25, 2014 as 1st Muharram 1436AH for the simple reason of Allah's injunction in Qur'an 4:59 'O ye who believe! Obey Allah, and Obey the Apostle, and those charged with authority among you' in which case tomorrow Sunday November 2, 2014 and Monday November 3, 2014 would be Tasu'a and 'Ashura. May Allah (SWT) accept our acts of devoution, amin. |