Henceforth, candidates who register for and sit both the paper pencil test and the Computer-Based Test of the Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination (UTME) in the same year will be banned three years from taking part in the examination.
Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Dibu Ojerinde, disclosed this in Abuja during the inauguration of a model Computer-Based Test Centre built by the board in Kogo Bwari.
He was reacting to reports that some candidates were involved in multiple registrations in this year’s UTME. He said the board had already invalidated the results obtained by such candidates.
“The new policy is that any candidate who engages in multiple registrations will be banned for three years,” he said.
Professor Ojerinde also said there was no going back on the plan to completely phase out of the traditional Paper Pencil Test (PPT) by 2015.
“We are not going back to PPT anymore. This is the end to PPT in the country. PPT was full of fraud, malpractices, logistic problems and insecurity; so, we do not want to go back to it. We now have a solution with the introduction of CBT. We are forging ahead with it,” he said.
He listed some of the gains of CBT to include zero tolerance to examination malpractice, cost effectiveness and instant release of results.
Ojerinde lamented that over 98 vehicles were used by the board in the distribution of examination materials to the various centres this year – a development he noted does not guarantee the security of test materials.
On how prepared JAMB is to go fully computer-based, Ojerinde disclosed that there were over 156 CBT centres nationwide; 10 of them personally built by the board.
To ease the board’s transition to e-testing by 2015, the Federal Government has pledged to construct world standard CBT centres in each of the 109 senatorial districts in the country.
The Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, made the Federal Government’s commitment known in Abuja on Friday while inaugurating the model CBT centre built by JAMB at the cost of over N150 million.
He said that President Goodluck Jonathan had pledged his administration’s readiness to fully support JAMB to ensure that the project succeeds, as part of his government’s transformation.
Wike also called on the state governors to build at least a CBT centre in each of the local government areas, while also encouraging the private sector to participate in the construction of additional test centres across the country.
He urged other public examination bodies in the country to take a cue from JAMB in order to improve on test administration.
“The JAMB experience is already a model in Africa and has become a national pride, which can proudly be showcased to the world.
“It is, therefore, incumbent on the board to do everything possible to maintain the standard already set with the introduction of CBT in large scale assessment,” he said. Tribune
