The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum has called Abolition of the planned computer-based test structure for the next West African Senior School Certificate Examinations in the nation
In rural areas of northern states where computer capabilities are either nonexistent or very limited, the forum claims that allowing such a style of testing will cause mass failure among pupils.
The CBT exams should have been optional, giving applicants the choice to select between the computer-based technique and the conventional pen-and-paper format, according to AYCF National President Yerima Shettima, who made this claim in a statement issued in Kaduna on Friday.
He contended that in doing so, students would have been free to select the format that best suited their needs and abilities.
Shettima continued, stating that studies carried out by the Forum in a few northern states, including Zamfara, Jigawa, Taraba, Adamawa, Nasarawa, and Plateau, showed that the CBT exams had a consistent negative impact on students’ false failure rates in public schools, where computer literacy was not always taught.
He stated, “Even the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board CBT exams have placed underprivileged students in a predicament as they struggle to answer questions in a format they are unfamiliar with.
“Many students who failed the CBT-based JAMB exams last year argued that their failures were a result of systemic failures, including insufficient facilities or network failures during the exams. Additionally, a lack of proper and adequate computer skills, coupled with outdated desktop computers that are not properly maintained by CBT centers further exacerbate the situation.”
He stated that in order to stop a high percentage of pupils failing out of school when they should have been given fair and equal chances to succeed, action had to be taken.
