Nigerians in diaspora support JAMB’s CBT model

As reactions continue to trail the adoption of Computer Based Test (CBT) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), a coalition of Nigerians overseas, under the auspices of Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group (NDMG), have thrown their weight behind the board, saying they were in support of the adoption of computer-based testing model for students. According to them, the move has aligned Nigeria’s tertiary entrance examination with global best practice.

A statement issued by the group and signed by its Publicity Secretary in the United Kingdom, Mr. David Onmeje, noted that criticisms of the flaws identified in this year’s examination were not enough grounds for JAMB to discontinue using CBT but that it should rather be treated as areas needing improvement in future examinations.

The statement noted, “All innovations have early adopters and persistent opponents but advancement always have to happen in the interest of mankind. Even countries with more advanced technologies still have citizens that kick against innovative concepts and express preference for older systems but societies that are determined to progress do not allow objections to hold them back.

“We urge Nigerians to support the CBT. JAMB Registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde should be commended instead of the ingratitude that criticism over the system’s teething problems has amounted to”.

The group, however, asked Ojerinde to unveil plans for correcting identified flaws to Nigerians to further boost confidence in the examination body, adding,

“We believe JAMB can leverage on its successful innovations in other aspects of tertiary entrance examination to convince Nigerians that CBT is the way to go since the changes it had introduced in the past are now fully accepted despite the initial opposition to them.

“Online registration, unification of all entrance examinations and e-result and other innovations of JAMB are now very popular with the population even though they earlier faced similar resistance.

But for us in Nigerians in Diaspora Monitoring Group, these are things we see in other climes regularly and we are proud that Nigeria too is getting up to speed with the application of technology to vital institutions”.