JAMB with tears?

It is now mandatory, according to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for all candidates sitting for its examinations to adopt what it calls Computer Based Test or CBT. This means that all secondary school leavers across the country wishing to further their education in the universities, polytechnics, colleges of education etc. must write the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination otherwise known as UTME electronically.

This is a welcome development, isn’t it? But have these people at JAMB taken a critical look at the implications of this decision? How many secondary school leavers in Nigeria can operate a computer? Do all universities and other institutions of higher learning in the country adopt the CBT? In a complex country like Nigeria where there have been and still there are growing inequalities in access to quality education and basic amenities like pipe borne water, electricity, roads etc. It is not fair to subject candidates who are privileged to have the aforementioned at their disposal alongside their less privilege rural dwelling counterparts to the same CBT.

It is unfair to expect JAMB candidates from the rural areas who may well be only seeing a computer for the first time in their lives to sit under the same examination setting with the computer literate city boys and girls, who have been exposed to the computer since primary school.

It is also wrong to expect candidates from the remotest villages to travel 100 to 200 kilometres in search of the few available JAMB accredited registration centres to register for the UTME.

It is equally unreasonable to compel a villager who has not yet seen a computer talk less of touched a computer mouse to have an e-mail account before he or she registers for the UTME.

It is unfair to ask rural dwelling candidates to travel the same 100 to 200 kilometres to sit for the examination. This the most unfair of all the unfair treatments JAMB gives to the village and computer illiterate candidates because for them to make it to the examination venue on time, they must leave their villages at least a day to the examination. And they may have to add a day before they return to their villages as some of these examinations are scheduled for evening hours. Does JAMB make provisions for their accommodation?

It is mistaken, therefore, for JAMB to completely wipe out pencil and paper mode of examination because that is tantamount to sidelining or deliberately planning to disallow a great percentage of the computer illiterate candidates who are from the rural areas.

The minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu and JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede should please take note and know that this short piece is not calling for a complete reversal to pencil and paper JAMB examination mode but a reconsideration in favour of those who are not computer literate, who reside in the remote villages far away from the very few accredited centres for registration and those who cannot afford two days for hotel in the city. Tanimu Ibrahim Gambo, Wase, Plateau State.