JAMB increases CBT Centres to 256 for 2014/2015 Exam

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has designated 256 centres for the 2014/2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Computer Based Test (CBT) across the country.
Mr Fabian Benjamin, the board’s Head of Public Relations, made the disclosure in a telephone interview  on Monday in Lagos.
Benjamin said that the centres were increased from 56 in 2012/2013 to 256 for the forthcoming examination.
He said that the increase was made to accommodate the large number of candidates applying for the CBT.
“Application form is out; preparation for the technical aspect is in top gear and we are always ready.
“Centres that had hitches during the 2012/2013 examination will be corrected, while some may not be used.
“What we already have on ground is close to perfection,“ he said.
The board, in an earlier statement, had announced the commencement of the sale of the application forms for the 2014/2015 academic session UTME.
It advised qualified candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria that online registration would be on until March 14, 2014, while the website would be closed on March 25.
JAMB said that the examination would be conducted on April 5, 2014 for those writing the Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and Dual Based Test (DBT).
It said that the date for the Computer Based Test (CBT) would be announced later.
The board said that the examination centres of the candidates would depend on their chosen towns during online registration. (NAN)
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/jamb-increases-cbt-centres-256-20142015-exam/#sthash.FD2UMljT.dpufhttp://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/jamb-increases-cbt-centres-256-20142015-exam/

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has designated 256 centres for the 2014/2015 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Computer Based Test (CBT) across the country.
Mr Fabian Benjamin, the board’s Head of Public Relations, made the disclosure in a telephone interview  on Monday in Lagos.
Benjamin said that the centres were increased from 56 in 2012/2013 to 256 for the forthcoming examination.
He said that the increase was made to accommodate the large number of candidates applying for the CBT.
“Application form is out; preparation for the technical aspect is in top gear and we are always ready.
“Centres that had hitches during the 2012/2013 examination will be corrected, while some may not be used.
“What we already have on ground is close to perfection,“ he said.
The board, in an earlier statement, had announced the commencement of the sale of the application forms for the 2014/2015 academic session UTME.
It advised qualified candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria that online registration would be on until March 14, 2014, while the website would be closed on March 25.
JAMB said that the examination would be conducted on April 5, 2014 for those writing the Paper Pencil Test (PPT) and Dual Based Test (DBT).
It said that the date for the Computer Based Test (CBT) would be announced later.
The board said that the examination centres of the candidates would depend on their chosen towns during online registration. (NAN)
Culled from Vanguard News at http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/11/jamb-increases-cbt-centres-256-20142015-exam/

I Have A Dream, A Computer-Based Dream!

Apologies to the late Martins Luther King Jnr. and his estate for the use of the world-famous “I have a dream…” phrase in this write up to highlight my own dreams of a future, the context and contents of which in a way does may not bear the same weight as Mr. Kings’ but nonetheless emphasizes a sub-set of freedom; freedom for students all over Nigeria who have at one point in their life faced the unfortunate situation  of having to wait a year or more after losing a battle to the “dreaded” Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)’s  University Matriculation Examination (UME), now the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the loss of which might be just a few points or numbers, but the import of which could be summed in the adage “A miss is as good as a mile”.

I have a dream; a dream that one day, JAMB UTME results would be available within 24 hours of taking the examination.

I have a dream, that one day, JAMB UTME examinations would be conducted more than once, at least 4 times a year, in the mould of SAT and TOEFL.

I have a dream, that one day, mass cancellation of results of JAMB UTME centers for irregularities and cheating, in which the innocent suffer as much as the wicked, would be a thing of the past, and everyone would soon be easily held up for his or her sins.

I have a dream, that one day, failing or making a mistake at a single JAMB UTME examination sitting would not prevent a student from entering tertiary institution for a whole year, because such a student would have one or more opportunities to attempt the examination again before admission processing at tertiary institutions for the new academic year.

I have a dream, when JAMB UTME results would no longer be with-held for any reason whatsoever and the days of examination imposters and mercenaries would be a thing of history.

I have a dream that the cost of JAMB UTME eventually would come down because of the reduced logistic costs through Computer-Based and Internet-Based Testing, making it affordable for a wider range of Nigerian students seeking tertiary education.

I believe, to a certain extent from several interviews that he has granted, that the current JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde shares my dream. And I believe that with determination, focus and resourcefulness on his part and with the support of fellow Nigerians, he can make the dream a reality for the benefit of us all and the unborn. However, I must also state here that I have a nightmare…., a nightmare of JAMB UTME CBT gone wrong, in which the focus is on making money from hapless Nigerian students rather than delivering anything of value to them,…. a nightmare in which the JAMB UTME CBT software’s effectiveness and integrity’s compromised and students get the wrong results and are forced to pay for the inefficiencies of others who should have done things right in the first place! I also hope Prof. Dibu Ojerinde shares these nightmares and would work tirelessly to ensure they do not become a reality that has to be defended with excuses in the media here and there, while hapless students and their parents bear the pains of an experiment gone wrong and JAMB contractors smile to the bank.

At EasiPREP, we share the dreams of a CBT future, a future already staring from now, in which computers and information technology makes examination preparation, testing and assessment easy and worth the money, delivering undeniable and obvious value to students, parents and academic institutions. At EasiPREP, we are eliminating the era of carrying around lots of past question paper booklets to prepare for examinations, we’re helping to save the trees, and save the stress. Instead of several booklets to cover several subjects for examinations like JAMB UTME, WAEC & NECO SSCE, you now have it all on something you can hold in the palm of your hand. Yes, that’s why we made the One CD to contain them all… the One DVD to contain them all, 13 subjects and still counting, across 3 major national examinations and still counting; the EasiPREP CBT CD and DVD Editions! Like Coca Cola, it cuts across class, wealth, location and other barriers, to deliver value to that smart, wise and insightful student who wants to make a difference in his/her academic future. For more information, please visit http://www.easiprep.com/

Needful Things: Why Students Fail Exams Even While Attending Expensive Schools!

Marketing innovative educational products and education-enhancing solutions to private and public schools in Nigeria has afforded me a lot of insights into the operations of these schools in the country including information about strengths and weaknesses. I have seen private schools that are very expensive, yet offering both academic and moral training no better than private schools charging far less than them. I have seen private schools that are not all that expensive, yet offering excellent academic training to their students and giving parents more than enough value for their money. I must state here to avoid needless debate that I quite understand and agree with the fact that ideally, schools should offer more than academic training to students. However, in order to appropriately treat the topic of this discuss on examination failure, I would dwell on the quality of academic instruction being given to students from my interactions with private schools and public schools.

One of the core and important things about sound education is that it should inspire the hunger and desire to learn in students, which as a life-long attribute in these students, would go a long way in molding and shaping their lives, because life in itself, is an almost never-ending learning experience. When students in any school lose the enthusiasm to learn, to be curious about things, to explore innovations that would enhance their learning experience and academic performance, then there is a serious problem.

One of the major problems causing failure and low academic performance in schools in the country is the killing of this spirit of enthusiasm to learn in students by schools and parents.

Public schools for one, are banned from selling, aiding or introducing in any way, any product to students even when it would greatly enhance the learning experience and academic performance of these students, without the express approval of the State or Federal Ministry of Education as the case may be. And in order to avoid witch-hunting and being accused of ulterior motives, teachers and administrators in public schools deliberately fail and even refuse out-rightly to recommend any product that would aid their students to the relevant ministry. And if any product or innovation where to come from such ministries, teachers and principals of public schools avoid having to evaluate the effectiveness of those products or innovations on their students in order not to incur wraths from above!

As a result of the above, public school students lose out on a lot of things that would have helped their academic pursuits. They are stuck with old and uninteresting ways of learning that do not in any way foster curiously or enthusiasm to learn.

For most private schools, the situation is a little different but practically with the same result. Based on the incessant complaints of parents on schools often increasing their fees and charges, most private schools are quite unwillingly to introduce or recommend any product, solution or innovation to parents that would involve any cost because of the perceived outcry that would follow, even if there are obvious benefits to the academic performance of the students. To some extent, the schools can hardly be blamed because these days, most parents demonstrate instant resistance to anything that would cost them money aside their children’s regular school fees, most times without even bothering to evaluate what is on offer!  These attitudes of parents and private schools more often than not result in students losing out on innovations and solutions that could enhance their learning and academic performance.

For example, some private schools have deliberately kept parents in the dark about the revised senior secondary school curriculum from NERDC that takes effect from September 2011 for the simple reason that it would generate undue pressure on them to which they cannot react by increasing fees even when absolutely necessary. It is not difficult to imagine, that a school without a functional computer lab or without a computer lab at all would not want any parent with children in the school to be aware that Computer Studies is now mandatory for senior secondary school students in the country; because such school would come under pressure to have a functional computer lab which would cost money. And with recent hike in school fees as a result of the effects of National minimum wage increase, it would be difficult for the aforementioned school to finagle the financing of a new functional computer laboratory from additional hiking of school fees! The end-result is that favourable and positive policies in national education are quietly “sat upon” by schools while hoping the non-implementation of such policies wouldn’t affect the academic performance of students and when actions are taken or examinations set based on the assumption of implementation of such policies, mass failure often result!

For example, JAMB UTME from next year is going to be computer-based. It is easier to come to terms with that fact if secondary schools all implement the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC) revised senior secondary school curriculum from September 2011 which is more than 6 months before the JAMB UTME CBT and schools also take advantage of effective and quality computer-based examination preparatory solutions and products such as the ones from EasiPREP. Complaint of students not being computer literate would be few because in all honesty, most schools were aware of the NERDC recommendations as far back as 2009. However, most schools are currently too caught up in the minimum wage school fee increment issue to attend to any other important issue and the result could be mass failure in JAMB UTME 2012. And this goes even for schools where parents pay exorbitant school fees to keep their children in attendance!

JAMB UTME Becomes Computer-Based!

Starting from 2012, JAMB UTME is going to be Computer-Based!
In what seems to be an "about time" that JAMB took its cue from the numerous computer-based Post UTME examinations being conducted by Tertiary Institutions across the country, the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde has confirmed authoritatively and through various interviews granted to the media that JAMB UTME is going to be Computer-Based starting from the 2012 examination! The overall long-term goal  is to make the JAMB UTME become internet-based just like international examinations like the SAT and TOEFL. However, for logistic reasons and the fact that internet penetration and service level still leaves more to be desired in the country, the Board would commence with Computer-Based examination at computerized halls that have been established nationwide.
Some are already doubting the capacity and capability of JAMB to conduct Computer-Based Examinations nationwide by next year. However, one should understand that a tertiary institution like the University of Ilorin has already conducted Post UTME examination the CBT way with centers in Lagos and Ilorin and one or two more locations in the country. And that is just one institution. With the funding level of JAMB and the willingness of numerous private companies to partner in the delivery of test centers, the goal is not an impossible or improbable one for JAMB to achieve.
Some say how are public school students going to cope? Well, we should note that examination bodies in the country have no antecedents of with-holding such positive developments because of the lack of readiness of public school students or the less privileged. If such had been the case, the online examination registration and results-checking that have now become the hallmarks of practically every examination body in the country would still be in the idea stage!
Instead of contesting issues with JAMB, what sensible schools with foresight should be doing is preparing their students adequately for this new mode of examination. And sensible parents or guardians should be preparing their wards without waiting for some schools that may be dilly-dallying. Thankfully, EasiPREP provides a wide range of preparation options for the smart student, wise parent and sensible school. EasiPREP offers Online Internet-Based preparation, School Computer Lab-based preparation using the EasiPREP Network Edition software which doesn't require internet connection, Personal Computer/Laptop preparation with EasiPREP CBT software packaged in CD or download-able and Interactive Home DVD preparation using the EasiPREP DVD Edition that works most modern Home DVD Players! With EasiPREP, smart schools, parents and students are covered! Visit www.easiprep.com for more information.