In the face of mounting challenges bedevilling the conduct of examinations in Nigeria, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) have insisted on transiting from paper-based testing to Computer-Based Testing (CBT) in order to eliminate human errors and sabotage that continue to plague the system.
The insistence of the examination bodies to adopt CBT for the Senior School Certificate Examinations (SSCE) has sparked a wave of mixed reactions among education stakeholders across the country.
While the examination bodies maintain that transitioning to CBT will curb examination malpractice, several stakeholders have raised concerns over the readiness of schools, students, and the education system as a whole.
Speaking during the May Dialogue organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN) in Lagos on Thursday, the helmsmen of WAEC and NECO affirmed their readiness to adopt CBT for the conduct of their examinations.
The virtual dialogue, themed “CBT for SSCE: Is Nigeria Ready?”, brought together key stakeholders to discuss the future of education in Nigeria.
The Minister of State for Education, Tunji Alausa, in April directed WAEC and NECO to fully adopt CBT for all their examinations by 2026, describing it as a major step towards eliminating examination malpractice and encouraging genuine academic preparation among students.
Again, while monitoring the conduct of the ongoing WAEC’s CBT examinations in Abuja on Wednesday, the minister reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to fully transition to CBT by 2026.
The readiness of the examination bodies to efficiently operate the CBT for candidates has, however, sparked concerns among educationists and stakeholders across the federation, given the obvious challenges that marred the conduct of CBT examinations as seen in the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the delayed English Language paper that triggered public outcry during the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) on Wednesday.
We are good to go – WAEC
The Head of National Office, WAEC, Amos Dangut, who was a discussant at the dialogue, submitted that the challenges faced in the conduct of examinations buttresses the federal government’s clarion call for the adoption of CBT.
While Mr Dangut apologised for the delayed conduct of English Language examination in some states on Wednesday, he explained that it was orchestrated by the need to urgently address the issue of compromised question papers, logistical and socio-cultural issues in the affected states.
“WAEC was inundated by messages that the English question paper had been compromised. We went back to the drawing board to sort it. Unfortunately, another issue happened. We had logistic issues and socio-cultural issues in Taraba, Bayelsa, and Ogun states. We tender our apology to Nigerians. I am using this opportunity to say it will not repeat itself,” he pleaded.
On why WAEC did not consider postponing the paper, he explained, “The examination is international. As candidates are taking it in Nigeria, others are taking it in different countries as well. The majority of centres had no issues, it was just an unforeseen incident.”
“I want the public to know that in this same exam, there are certain centres already using the CBT mode. The advantages of CBT far outweigh the disadvantages. If we had adopted CBT, we wouldn’t have encountered the logistics and printing problems we suffered recently.
“It would have just been a touch of a button and the examinations are well delivered. For us at WAEC, we can’t say we have arrived because teaching is evolving, and technology is evolving but we are ready for CBT, and we are consolidating,” Mr Dangut said.
We will leverage available infrastructure – NECO
Also speaking at the dialogue, the Registrar and Chief Executive of NECO, Dantani Wushishi, a professor, expressed readiness, saying, the council will leverage available infrastructure and facilities to conduct the November/December examinations.
While he noted that adopting CBT requires certain innovation, he disclosed that NECO has introduced no fewer than 12 information technology (IT) solutions and has developed a three-year strategic plan, which include the conduct of CBT examinations.
“NECO in the conduct of SSCE every year examines between 1.3 to 1.4 million candidates, and we have 76 different subject areas and not less than 120 different papers. When you look at the number of secondary schools across Nigeria, we have nothing less than 36,000 schools where we conduct examinations. So, if we are going to conduct examinations by school, it means we will require full CBT infrastructure in these 36,000 centres.
“JAMB for instance has more than 800 CBT centres which we can also leverage on. The National Open University (NOUN) also has CBT centres across the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory that we can also leverage on. We plan to do CBT during the November/December examinations, and we are already mapping schools across states.”
“The CBT infrastructure is not only about the provision of computers or laptops in the centres to run effectively, and because education is in the concurrent list, states must be well prepared, key in and make provisions because the provision of equipment for CBT requires a large amount of money and logistics, but it has advantages over paper and pen examinations.
CBT is the only solution – FG
At the dialogue, the Director, Senior Secondary Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Binta Abdukadir, who was a discussant threw her weight behind the adoption of CBT to eliminate malpractices.
Hajia Abdulkadir described examinations as fundamental to any education system, serving as a means of assessing students after years of learning.
According to her, adopting CBT is the only solution, and the federal government is keen on making it a reality.
“We will look inward and use the available infrastructure to start because if we continue to wait until such a time that we are ready, we will not be there. WAEC already started CBT last year in some schools and in the last meeting, the report we got was that there was zero examination malpractice. So, CBT remains the only option,” she reiterated.
She also tendered an apology on behalf of WAEC, saying the government has commenced an investigation into the issue.
Stakeholders debate adoption of CBT
While the federal government insists on the use of CBT for all external examinations, stakeholders hold divergent views on the matter.
A participant who is an IT specialist from Texas, USA, Odinaka raised the issue of financing. He asked, “We have businesses declaring big profits in Nigeria. At what point will the education system partner with big corporate organisations to embrace IT holistically as part of their corporate responsibilities?
“Why don’t we build our infrastructure such that students can get their results immediately after sitting the examination? We shouldn’t be at the teething stage all the time.” he said.
Responding, Mr Wushishi explained that NECO was established by the federal government as a social service. “It was not established as a business interest, though, that doesn’t mean we can’t collaborate but there is an extent such collaboration can go. The Federal Ministry of Education needs to come in, and we need a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to back any agreement.”
Ademola Osoba suggested that CBT centers should be done in phases, and should be accompanied with massive sensitisation for stakeholders, particularly the candidates.
Ariyo Small, who also participated in the dialogue, warned against putting the cart before the horse. He said, “Many of these children have been in schools without computers or electricity, and you want to subject them to CBT. The problem of education is bigger than CBT. We need to restructure our curriculum.
“Our education system is not tailored to make people educated. We are killing brilliant students by compelling them to do what they are not accustomed to. The National Assembly should do something, we are not there yet. We have a generation that are alien to computers. Lagos, Port Harcourt, and other cities are not the entire Nigeria. There are remote areas where people don’t even know what a mouse looks like.”
An ICT specialist, Abdulrasheed Robana, stressed the need to consider the operational and algorithm of CBT. “In a proper CBT situation, once you finish the exam, you see your result. The idea of CBT is to eliminate human elements. JAMB, by its true definition, is not doing CBT but its mode is adaptable to CBT.
“But WAEC and NECO’s mode of examinations are not adaptable to CBT. The only one adaptable is the multiple choice of examination (objective) like JAMB, and if we adopt objective, we are destroying our secondary education. Even Harvard that invented CBT still does pen-and-paper examinations.”
A lecturer who was formerly with the University of Abuja but currently in Rwanda, Isaac Areo suggested that the objective CBT and essay section on paper be taken side by side.
Former chairperson of Parents, Teachers Association (PTA) of Queens College, Beatrice Akhetuamhen drew attention to the fact that JAMB is a one-day examination unlike WAEC and NECO.
She said, “That there is a ministerial pronouncement does not mean we are ready. How many students are trained using computers? Adopting CBT is a long term investment that must be done by the federal government.”
Responding, the NECO registrar expressed optimism towards the adoption of CBT. He said, “The countries that have been using CBT have been doing it for so many years, and where they are today is not where they started many years ago.
“We must start it on the basis of our dynamics as a society. It is about technology adoption and this is the only way we can advance technologically. We have just launched supersonic scanners for scanning,” he noted.
War on saboteurs
A participant, Mojeed Alabi, a professor, stated that the recent challenges faced by the examination bodies does not take away the beauty of CBT.
“We must know that there are saboteurs who do not want us to have free and fair examinations and we cannot wait until we are 100 per cent ready. CBT is going to reduce examination malpractice,” he said while he urged the examination bodies to commence CBT examinations without delay or fear of saboteurs.
Hajia Abdulkadir also emphasised the need to punish the culprits that are sabotaging national examinations and undermining the efforts of the examination bodies in Nigeria.
“I know that some people can give in their best to make sure that things don’t go well. The law of the land should be allowed to take its course against them. All culprits must be brought to book and punished decisively, so that it can serve as a deterrent to others who may be planning to do the same,” she stressed.
Earlier in his opening remarks, the chairman of EWAN, Mojeed Alabi, expressed concern over the deteriorating state of Nigeria’s education system, citing, in particular, the recent challenges encountered in the conduct of external examinations.
He emphasised that Nigeria can no longer afford to pay lip service to the education sector if it genuinely aspires to achieve meaningful economic development.
Mr Alabi extended the association’s appreciation to the panellists and participants for engaging in the discourse, noting that the objective was to critically assess the nation’s preparedness to transition to CBT examinations by 2026.