The 2016 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has not been hitch-free in some of the 521 Computer Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide. To JAMB’s credit, the integrity of the examination is no longer in doubt. Malpractices were rampant under the Paper Pencil Test (PPT). However, there are new challenges in the conduct of the CBT that the board has not been able to address.
The challenges that dogged the examination last year, such as network/system failure, and inability to keep to time schedule, were also noticed this year. There were also other issues such as the alleged “addition” of 40 marks to the grades of many candidates that took the examination in the first few days after it started on February 27; incompatible questions and answers; and incomplete questions.
The hitches have led to stakeholders questioning the integrity of the examination and the board’s preparedness to continue conducting the examination as 100 per cent CBT.
40 ‘bonus’ marks, incomplete questions and system failure
Bonus marks make students happy. But the alleged addition of 40 marks to the scores of some candidates in the 2016 UTME has resulted in anger and confusion.
Many candidates have reported downloading two versions of results, with a difference of 40 marks, released by JAMB. Chairman, Ambassadors School in Ota, Ogun State, Mr Samson Oshewa, had eight of such cases in his school. He downloaded both versions of the results, which he made available to The Nation.
“Those that did the exam on the first Saturday and Monday had two results released. For instance, they first got an SMS that said something like they had 203; then a second one that said 243. When we checked online the second time, we saw 243. They added 10 marks to each subject. I was saving it as they were checking. So I still have the former mark, and the new mark,” he said.
Oshewa faulted JAMB for denying that it added marks for some candidates, saying that it putting a question on the integrity of the examination.
“If you add 40 marks to the marks and you are still denying it, it shows lack of integrity,” said Oshewa.
The proprietor also claimed that some of the grades were arbitrarily as they not reflect the abilities of the candidates.
“The marks that the students have been recording do not correlate with their performance. We generally know how good they are. You see someone that is very good in a subject scoring 40-something, and another one not so good scoring 90-something; so we are very concerned,” he said
While Oshewa is calling to question the arbitrariness of the grades awarded, another parent, who simply identified herself as Mrs Adewale, is fuming that JAMB did not spread the 40 marks across board.
Her daughter, Tobi, who wrote at Sedmex Tutorial Computer Centre in Iyana Ejigbo was denied the 40 marks ‘largesse’ which would have shot her score from 233 to 273.
“My daughter wrote English, Chemistry, Physics and Biology and she practised very hard ahead of the exam. She also told me most of those things she practiced came out. She said many of the candidates at the centre scored between 150 and 180 and were later given 40 marks as addition, but my daughter was exempted.
“I believed with the 40 marks, her score would have risen up to 273 and qualify her for any course she wanted to do in any university,” she said.
Some stakeholders have alleged that the additional marks may not be unconnected with the mismatch of questions and answers and incomplete questions candidates’ noticed while writing the examination.
A candidate, Akintunde Igbamoni, who took the UTME on February 29 at Crawford University Igbesa Ogun State, said questions 11 to 20 of the English Language were missing.
“When we discovered this, we quickly notified the JAMB officials who then asked us to leave the space and proceed, promising that those questions would come later; but those questions never came until we finished exam,” Igbamoni said.
Another candidate, simply called Tobiloba, who took the examination at MTI College, Surulere, complained that her questions for two subjects were only 25 out of 50.
“The computer was switched on around 10 am. I was asked to log in but within five minutes the computer went off and we were all asked to go downstairs until 3.30pm. I logged in and all my questions were complete. But within few seconds the computer tripped off again. When I logged in again, I noticed that my mathematics was 46 instead of 50; my Chemistry was 25; and my physics was 25. I tried my best to complete all within one hour,” said Tobiloba, who was yet to get her result as at press time.
Tobi’s mother, who does not want to be named, wants JAMB to conduct another examination for her daughter.
“I want to write petition to JAMB to conduct another exam for my daughter. She is very brilliant and I know she has been reading. But what happened was not her fault,” she said.
So many centres experienced system failure that affected the candidates’ ability to finish on time. Mr Olutokunbo Adelabi (not real names), said his daughter was unable to finish because the computer kept tripping off. “She scored 210. But she would have done better if she was able to finish. But the computers kept going off,” he said.
Mr Oshewa said with the disappointing performance of many centres, JAMB should do more in choosing centres for future examinations.
“JAMB should have better control of the centres. In a situation where the facilities are not good enough, the candidates suffer. Some centres have good computers and candidates don’t experience problems. In other centres, the computers go off. Some of the computers are so slow that it eats the time of the students. As a result, the exam is not transparent. If some computers are working and others are not it means candidates do not get equal opportunity,” he said.
Challenges of cost, distance, and time
The practice of posting candidates outside their state of residence is one that candidates and their parents hope would be addressed next year. Those posted to other states lamented the cost, inconvenience and difficulties they experienced.
Mr Lawrence Mpama, a resident of Calabar in Cross River State, complained that he had to spend about N15,000 because his daughter had to travel to Akwa Ibom State to write her examination.
“My daughter wrote the examination in Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State, even though we live in Calabar. They told us Calabar centres were filled up. The form was N6,500. But the money I spent for everything pertaining to that exam was about N15, 000.
“Getting to the centre, they did not start early. My daughter was supposed to write by 9, but she started by 11. As they were writing when network went off they would ask them to shut down, if not their time would be running. JAMB should create their own ICT centres and they should discuss with the network providers because this idea of network failure is not good,” he said.
Samuel Akpan, who also lives in Calabar, had to travel to Ebonyi State to write the examination, which he said was stressful.
“I was posted to Ebonyi, and I almost missed the exam because my guardian could not raise money for me to travel. The money that I got had to be borrowed. Again I passed through a lot of stress traveling to a new place. Before I got there, I was spent mentally, financially and physically. I was almost late for the exam. I beg those in charge of JAMB to do something about the centres. They should be able to accommodate people to write the exam where it is convenient for them. It is not everybody that has the resources to just get up and go wherever they are sent at a moment’s notice. For some of us anything that has to do with money has to be planned to the last kobo,” said Samuel, who also experienced system failure at his centre.
As if it was not bad enough that Mr Etetim had to take his ward to Uyo from Calabar for the examination, the candidate was to write at 6.30am.
“I had to take the risk of hiring a taxi from Calabar on the very bad Calabar- Itu Federal Highway to get to Uyo for an examination billed for 6.30am. I had to bear the extra cost of keeping the taxi for a whole day,” said an angry Etetim.
Despite leaving Calabar as early as 5am, Etetim said they still got to the Ibom E-Library centre in Uyo about an hour after the exam had started.
Proprietor of Medak Café, one of the accredited JAMB’s registration centres in the Kwara State, Juwon Medaiyese said some candidates he registered had to go outside the state as well.
“I will give JAMB 30 percent mark because we are not yet ready for this technology. Nigeria is yet to have the capacity to manage CBT. I registered one of my customers in Ilorin, but the only centre available was Minna, and she has never been to Minna,” he said.
A mother, Mrs Mandu Archibong, urged JAMB to set up enough centres across the states instead of putting candidates and their parents through avoidable stress and risks.
Where it went well
Despite hitches recorded in some centres, there were little or no problems in many other centres visited by The Nation.
At the University of Agriculture, Makurdi (UAM) and Katsina Ala centres, the CBT was smooth. There were no incidents of power/network failure or breakdown of computers.
Miss Sandra Inya, who sat for the examination at UAM centre, told The Nation that it went well and she was happy as she awaited her result.
Many centres in Lagos also had a smooth sail. Some initially had problems but overcame them.
Mrs Boluwa Olorunshaanu, Vice Principal, Administration, of the Universal White Hall College, a centre in Fagba, Lagos, said the problem the centre had on the first day of the examination was eventually resolved.
“There was a minor problem last Saturday, the first day for the examination, and the candidates had to be moved to Bachel Model College, Ogba to write for that day. I would say the JAMB officials were not patient with us because our engineers are always on ground to fix unforeseen technical glitches. Other than that, the exams have run smoothly,” she said.
Dr Rufus Okoro, Director of ICT, University of Calabar, said issues at the centre were addressed early and candidates did not suffer for it.
“So far everything has been going on smoothly here. The major issues we had was the network initially. But JAMB and Cyberspace did a lot of work to get it up. The first day we had the exam on Saturday, there were issues of network. But we worked it out and candidates did not suffer.
“I think this is the best way to examine candidates because of the nature of the exam. Before when it used to be paper and pencil, they would copy and throw it outside, get reply and fill it. This time they answer and submit online,” he said.
Chams City CBT centre in Garki, Abuja, was peaceful when our reporter visited. A candidate who pleaded anonymity praised the CBT because it reduced the stress of paper writing, adding that it would encourage future candidates to upgrade their computer skills.
Another candidate who simply gave her name as Bose said her examination at JAMB’s Model CBT centre in Kogo, Bwari, went well.
“The examination went well. The security on ground there was tight. There was no network failure or challenges,” she said.
A parent in Ilorin (names withheld), also said his son had no issues.
“To the best of my knowledge, the exercise went smoothly. My son told me that the system had some hitches but it was immediately rectified. I have just come to printout his result in this café. He is an SSS 2 student and he scored 218,” he said.
Gloria Udom, who wrote at Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUTMinna), said she was re-scheduled, but had no other issues.
“I had my centre in FUT Minna. However the day I was scheduled to write my examination, there was network problem. We were told to come back on Monday. When we got there, we wrote the examination without further hitches,” she said.
JAMB, Senate’s responses
When contacted, Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Public Relations Officer, refuted most of the allegations raised by candidates, parents and teachers. He however said the Registrar, Prof Dibu Ojerinde, would address them after the examination ends next week.
“Most of the issues are not correct. However, the Registrar has asked that you exercise some patience as he is very busy with the process of examination and will address all the issues raised immediately we are done with the examination. Then we would be able to give you adequate response,” he said in an email to The Nation.
On her part, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Higher Education and TETFund, Senator Binta Masi Garba, said JAMB would be invited to respond to all the issues.
She said: “We have been hearing a lot of complaints from parents and students. Some said they could not access the questions. But we are trying to get across to the JAMB Registrar, because a lot of funds were allotted for setting up this CBT and obviously, if we are spending so much money on a particular project and we are not getting the merit out of it, then it calls for an answer and definitely we are looking into it. We are going to ask what went wrong and what are you going to do with these candidates that have spent so much time and funds to acquire the entrance examination (form) and they could not get it. I can assure you that immediately I leave here, I am going to call the registrar to ask him, ‘how do you proffer solution to what has been on ground?’”
•Senator Garba
Senator Garba, who represents Adamawa North senatorial zone, added that the committee has requested that JAMB should only charge N2,500 for the examination.
“Even in our submission yesterday (last Wednesday), we said most of the candidates are overcharged and when we asked JAMB, Jamb said it charged them N5000. But anyone writing JAMB would tell you they spent between N17,000 and N18,000. And what we said in the presentation of our report was that JAMB should charge only N2,500 and no hidden charges. I think we are standing on that,” she said.
