Retrogressive progress: The story of JAMB 2016

The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) began toying with the idea of Computer based Testing (CBT) as far back as 2013. The CBT is of course an advanced testing system introduced essentially to combat examination malpractice which is reminiscent of the Paper-Pencil Test (PPT).

In 2014, after test running the system with 617 candidates, the board decided it was ready for the big leap and in 2015, JAMB for the first time introduced exclusive Computer Based Testing (CBT) for candidates sitting for its Unified Tertiary Matriculations Exam (UTME).

More than 1.85 million candidates applied to sit for this year’s UTME. Most of the candidates were excited about the prospect of computer based testing, very few of them really considered the several shortcomings that could easily mar the exam and block their ‘gateways’ into tertiary institutions.

It wasn’t until they got to their respective exam venues did the reality of what would be this year’s UTME slap them in their faces. The reactions in the wake of this year’s CBT, UTME have been anything but kind. The candidates who are the worst hit aren’t finding anything to laugh about.

While those who wrote in the early days of 27th and 29th of February and 1st of March were lucky to have 40 marks added to their scores after the widespread hue and cry that accompanied the excruciating exercises, candidates who wrote on later days weren’t as lucky and were left to seek solace where they can. A cross section of them from around the country shared not only their experiences but also their anguish.

Ufanewe Udoebong said: Please I don’t know what to do honestly. I wrote this exam since on the 2nd and have seen my result. But today trying to check it again so I can print it, they said result not ready yet. What can I do and what’s even the problem? I wrote in JP Flinct international school Aba, Abia state.

Ruth okike who sat for the exam at Beep Tech International in Igoli Ogoja thinks someone is playing games with the results even as she rests her case with God.

The result we are getting is not our deserved result. Something needs to be done. We wrote on the 10th March. I believe (God) is in control. We need help especially.

Nwidenyi Etigo Chukwuebuka told of how the invigilators extorted candidates in the name of paying for fuel.

I’ll brief you based on my friend’s experience in Enugu. They were asked to pay N1000 for fuel and the man later shut down when they still had more than 20 minutes left. They threatened not to help those who didn’t pay the money. I think it’s a Secondary school called Judith foundation in Awkunanaw Town in Enugu . My friend got 167 but after 40marks were added it summed up to 207.

Adeola Oreoluwa Emmanuel claims the computer logged him out several times.

I sat for my exam at DS Adegbenro ICT polytechnic, Ogun State. The accreditation went on well, but when we got to the exam hall and told to start, the computer logged me out 4 times and it took a while for the officials to rectify it. I wasn’t even able to finish some questions and we weren’t allowed to use calculators.

Oyewole Nurudeen Olaoluwa claims the faulty computers produced mysterious test scores.

I wrote at Kemade Institute Ondo road Ile Ife. Some systems there are not good at all and it affected many people’s scores. What surprised me was that, all the brilliant students in my area scored less than 200 and those that we did not expect 150 from them score above 200.

Edomobi Jude onyema described the tests as heartless exercise.

Do I need to share how heartless this CBT exercise was to me or my brother? How can someone after writing his exam, all his efforts to see his or her result will remain fruitless. If not pending result, it will be absent at the exam day, the next day it will be no result yet. Please there are so many disadvantages in this CBT.

David Edet lamented the scourge of power supply: I wrote at Gateway’s Academy, Ukanafun AKwa Ibom. The experience there was that the power supply went off 13 minutes before the end of the exams and people couldn’t finish up apart from the people who they have done malpractice for. I think I would have had up to 230 or so.

Ojo Kolade Raphael thinks the entire exercise should be cancelled: I think they should cancel this year’s JAMB, because the systems keep scrolling and login itself on and off. I wrote in NIEPA, Ondo State.

Raimon King told of how he struggled with his devices.

It was very bad. I wrote mine at Blue Ocean in Gwarinpa, Abuja. My result was unexpected. After all my struggling with the computer, the calculator was coming out and before removing it time had gone and I didn’t answer all my questions before my time elapsed. At the end of it, I got 145. It was really sad.

Precious Nicholas can’t tell where her result disappeared to. I wrote on March second. I checked the next day and my score was 269. I tried checking again 5 days ago and they said no results yet.

Nuhu Adamu wonders if he was a ghost candidate: I wrote JAMB on Friday 4th march 2016, but whenever I check my result, they usually tell me, “you were absent from the examination.” I thumb printed before I entered, they called my name and I answered, I submitted my JAMB slip, I then thumb printed after I finished the exam. Yet they are still telling me that I was absent from the examination.

Favour Omagbon was confused and frustrated, as she said: This is unfair. JAMB sent me 232 but now I’m seeing 182 online.

Udochukwu Agumah was a mouthful.

It was on d 29th of February. We were supposed to start our exams by 1:30pm but due to the inconsistencies of the systems, we started late in d night around 9pm or there about. The painful aspect is that, some people started before others. Finally, every system started working after 9pm. I was just only typing my registration number when one if the invigilators shouted 20minutes more. I lost control but still didn’t give up.

But it was remaining about an hour on my system when they shut down their server. Some people were just starting. Some were still in their first subjects. It was like a dream. This is unlike the JAMB I wrote last year. In the end, they just gave me the score that suits them. But at least there is a God somewhere watching. Thank you for listening. I am Agumah udochukwu. I wrote at 12 Apostles College, Ndiaboishiagu, Ebonyi state.

For most of the candidates, this year’s UTME is an omnishambolic disaster. It wasn’t a wonder therefore that a large crowd of candidates in Lagos took to the streets in protest against the exercise. On Monday, they took their placards to JAMB office in Ikoyi and when that didn’t yield the desired result, they proceeded to the Lagos State House of Representatives Ikeja on Tuesday.

The hue and cry by candidates have been very loud since the first week of the exams but JAMB didn’t see the need to respond, not even on Monday when the candidates came first to them. Not until on Tuesday, after the candidates took their grievances to the Lagos House of Reps did JAMB see the need to react. And when they did, they did a very bad job of it.

In an effort to do damage control, JAMB’s head of media and information, Dr Fabian Benjamin blamed the protests on people who wanted the body to compromise on its standard.

We are worried by plans by a faceless group, under the aegis of education consultants, to stage a protest in Lagos over some challenges encountered in the conduct of the ongoing examination. We believe that this group of people are biased as they are owners of some of the examination centres that were lacking basic facilities for the successful conduct of our CBT

The first thing that struck me was how the head of media could in one sentence refer to the group under whose aegis the candidates protested as ‘faceless’ and in the very next sentence, tell us they (JAMB) not only know the members of the group but that they were also business partners who supplied them centres for their CBT exams. So how are they faceless?

JAMB via their head of media, went on to tell us that the board had approved the examination facilities of the said conveners of the group only to discover, after the UTME exercise began, that their centres were unusable as most of the computers and other backup facilities provided were faulty.

In a nutshell, JAMB is saying, we approved unusable facilities for the test. And the students were made to figure out a way to use facilities that are unusable. To me, that isn’t how to not compromise on standard, no. That to me sounds like having no standard at all. And the students are very right to protest this wrong regardless of under whose aegis they did it.

But why then, after this (in)voluntary admission, does JAMB believe it was their standard under attack and not their incompetence? If their standard have been high there wouldn’t have been a need to ‘pad’ people’s score with extra 40 marks. Candidates wouldn’t be complaining about conflicting results.

JAMB should as a matter of urgency address the issues and shortcomings that have reared their heads during this UTME exercise instead of making frantic efforts at smearing the honest protests embarked upon by the candidates.

The use of Computer Based Testing is always a welcomed development because it shows we are progressing technologically as a nation, even though that progress is at a sickly pace. But when our progress comes at the detriment of the future leaders, it becomes imperative to decipher where and when our progress proves retrogressive.

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Contributory report sent in by Umunnakwe Munach

Op–ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija

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