The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has warned that the proposed computer-based test format in the forthcoming West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) may result in mass failure for students, especially those in rural areas.
It, subsequently, called for its cancellation. National President of the forum, Yerima Shettima, said CBT exams should have been optional, allowing candidates to choose between the traditional pen-and-paper format and the computer-based approach. He said the council should have allowed students to opt for the format they were most comfortable with and capable of attempting successfully.
According to him, research conducted by the forum in Zamfara, Jigawa, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa, and Plateau, revealed that the CBT exams had consistently led to high failure rates among students attending public schools.
He said even the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has placed indigent students in a predicament as they struggled to answer questions using the CBT format. He added that many who failed the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) last year blamed it on network issues.
