By Mary Onyia
School proprietors have raised objections to the recent proposal by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, calling for an immediate transition from traditional pencil-and-paper testing to computer-based testing (CBT) for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE), organized by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO).
This shift is intended to combat fraud and examination malpractices, with the goal of implementing it by next year.
Dr. Alausa recently stated that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has successfully reduced examination fraud through the implementation of CBT for its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). He believes that similar measures could enhance the examination process for WAEC and NECO.
“We are working diligently to eliminate fraud in our examination system, and WAEC is leading the charge. There is clear evidence that when exams are conducted using technology, the level of fraud is minimized to almost zero,” the minister commented while overseeing recent CBT examinations held by WAEC in Abuja.
He stressed that both WAEC and NECO must adopt this technology-driven approach to combat examination malpractice within the nation’s educational system. “If JAMB can successfully conduct CBT exams for over 2.2 million candidates, then WAEC and NECO can do the same,” he asserted, mandating that by 2026, both objective and essay papers should fully transition to CBT.
He proclaimed, “This is how we can eliminate exam malpractices.”
Despite JAMB’s success, school proprietors are concerned that transitioning to CBT for other examination bodies without adequate preparation could negatively impact the education system.
They acknowledge the necessity of addressing fraudulent practices that compromise the integrity of results and certificates issued by WAEC and NECO, but urge caution in the government’s approach to this transition.
Prof. Samuel Bandele, an expert in Test and Evaluation Principles and Vice Chancellor of Anchor University, Lagos, echoed these calls for careful implementation. He warned that the transition to CBT must be carefully planned to avoid exacerbating existing problems while trying to improve the educational system at the secondary school level.
Prof. Bandele pointed out that, unlike the UTME, which primarily serves as a screening test for university admissions, both WAEC and NECO conduct achievement tests. He explained, “An achievement test assesses a student’s ability to express their ideas and communicate effectively through their responses to questions, showcasing their creativity and innovative thinking under examination conditions. Reducing these exams to solely objective questions in an attempt to implement CBT could undermine the quality of these assessments.”
With additional reports from the Sun Newspaper