By Felix Khanoba
Two non-governmental bodies, the Athena Center for Policy and Leadership and Educare have expressed their readiness to adequately prepare about 1 million students for Computer-Based Test (CBT) conducted by examination bodies in the country.
The two groups, which are collaborating on a scheme that will allow secondary school students massive access to computers, digital tools and ensure robust teaching of relevant subjects, said the move would improve performance in national examinations.
The AUTHORITY reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) conducts its annual Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) through CBT, even as the West African Examination Council (WAEC) also adopted the model in its recent West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates.
Speaking at the launch of Athena/Educare Free Nationwide JAMB Preparatory CBT in Abuja on Monday, the Chancellor of Athena Center, Chief Osita Chidoka, advocated for mainstreaming CBT into the school curriculum.
Chidoka said the CBT preparatory programme was also aimed at promoting constructive platforms for digital space and improving performance in JAMB exam.
“We have come to observe that 80 percent of students taking the JAMB CBT exams were not familiar with computers.
“We therefore need to mainstream CBT in schools to achieve quality education because digital capacity is the future of our country.
“Today, we do not manufacture education, and our children now go out of the country in search of education. The billions they spend on education outside can change the fortunes of our education,” he said.
Chidoka urged stakeholders to look into investing in infrastructure that would cater to the needs of the number of students engaged in CBT exams across the country and make them compete globally.
Also, the founder of Educare, Mr. Alex Onyia, said the organization was prompted to initiate the initiative as a result of the high number of students who recorded poor performance in JAMB examination as a result of a lack of knowledge of CBT.
Onyia said that investment in a platform that enhances skills such as this would give Nigerian students a quality education.
“In the community I came from, more than 70 percent of students failed JAMB last year. So, we decided to check the educational landscape of that community.
“We also know that 1.9 million registered for JAMB and out of this number, only about 260,000 candidates could write the mock exams. What is the faith of the other 1.7 million students?
“What we are doing is seeing how the two organizations partner to enhance the digital skills of students, particularly in rural communities, and prepare them for future CBT exams,” he said.
On his part, Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, who spoke virtually, said the country needed a strong political will to create platforms in expanding CBT infrastructure.
Mutfwang added that political leaders must be deliberate in mobilizing critical stakeholders to come up with strategies in expanding CBT infrastructure.
On the challenges of expanding CBT infrastructure, he urged stakeholders to support the initiative in the area of funding as well as provide massive campaigns to the local government areas to buy into the initiative.
In the same vein, Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State said the country is in the era of digital skills, hence the need to embrace CBT in all examinations.
Soludo, represented by his Special Adviser on Business and Innovation, Chinwe Okoli, said the country must begin to drive the education system by preparing students to embrace digital skills.
The event, which witnessed panel discussions, also attracted Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, who was represented virtually by Kaduna Commissioner for Education, Muhammed Sabi Bello.
