UTME candidates to write computer-based test from 2015

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Thursday launched a Computer Based Testing for candidates sitting for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations.
Launching the new initiative in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, said it was one of the transformative efforts of the government toward revamping the education sector, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
“There are two major objectives of this initiative. First, it is aimed at advancing the nation technologically and the second and the more important goal is to reduce or completely eliminate exam malpractice,” Rufa’i said.
She said it was a gradual introduction as candidates had two options where they could choose from the CBT, Paper-Pencil Test and Dual Computer-Paper Test.
The minister said the new system offered candidates the opportunity to get immediate feedback, get more secured and fair results in line with global best practice.
She said the other two options, PPT and DCPT, would be open from 2013 to 2015, by the end of which it was expected that all candidates for UTME would be computer literate.
The minister said that only purely computer based examinations would be taken by JAMB candidates and expressed the hope that other examination bodies would toe the line of JAMB.
Announcing the plans, JAMB Registrar , Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, said a mass campaign had been lined up to enable stakeholders to understand the advantages of using the system.
Ojerinde said CBT was conceived out of necessity to address issues that had continued to affect the successful conduct of examinations.
He gave an assurance that the initiative would be successful, saying JAMB was working in partnership with other companies that were into computer and Information technology. He said the system would ensure quality as candidates would be able to defend their certificates anywhere