CLEMENT IDOKO writes that the directive by the Federal Government for full transition of all examinations conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), from paper to Computer Based Examinations by 2026 has attracted divergent reactions by Nigerians with some stakeholders calling on government to extend the 2026 deadline to 2028 for enforcement.
Some experts and critical stakeholders in the education sector have expressed concerns over the plan of the Federal Government to ensure full transition of all examinations conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO) and National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), from paper to Computer-Based Examinations by 2026.
The pronouncement by the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, has since sparked intense debate among education stakeholders. Alausa, in announcing the migration of public examinations to Computer-Based Test (CBT), believes that this would curb the hydra-headed monster of examination malpractice and align Nigeria’s education system with global digital standards. In spite of this lofty idea, many experts have argued that the country is not yet ready for this shift, especially given the short time frame for the transition.
The Minister who draws inspiration from the successes being recorded by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in tackling examination malpractice during the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), is upbeat that the same feat could be recorded by WAEC, NECO and other public examination bodies.
However, the executive director of Education Rights Initiative (ERI), Dr Solomon Udah, described the set transition period as hasty, saying that the government should work out a phased transition plan up to 2018 for the full migration to CBT, if need be.
He pointed out that while the examination conducted by JAMB is a placement test and is purely objective questions, strictly for the purpose of admission with the result tenable for only one year, the school-based examinations conducted by WAEC and NECO are achievement examinations and valued for life.
According to him, while JAMB assesses the current skill level of candidates for placement in tertiary institutions, WAEC, NECO conduct achievement examinations for students on completion of academic programmes emphasising mastery. Such examinations have both objective and theory or essay components and it takes weeks to be conducted because candidates are tested per subject each day.
In the light of the above, the IRI Executive Officer argued that comparing UTME with school-based examinations would be disastrous for the candidates and the nation at large. “The issue of inadequate infrastructure is a big challenge here. Many schools, especially in rural areas, lack basic infrastructure such as electricity, internet connectivity, and computer labs.
“Besides, there is also the challenge of digital literacy; both students and teachers need training to develop the necessary digital skills to effectively participate in CBT examinations. Many teachers are not computer literate, and some of their students have never seen a computer before,” he stated.
Udah further noted that CBT could not be the only way to curb examination malpractice as the minister claims, adding that the government should fix the education sector, recruit qualified teachers to teach children, provide necessary infrastructure for effective teaching and learning and above all pay the teachers well so as to encourage them to give their best. “Once these things are in place and children are actually learning in class, examination malpractices would naturally disappear from the system,” he stated.
He called on the Federal Government to introduce CBT gradually, starting with pilot programmes in selected schools or regions, upgrade school infrastructure, including electricity, internet connectivity, and computer laboratories as well as provide training for teachers and students to develop digital skills.
Udah also urged the government to establish CBT centers in local government areas to reduce travel distances and costs as well as consider a phased approach, starting with objective questions and gradually introducing essay components.
The national vice president for inter-campus and gender affairs, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), comrade Akinbodunse Sileola Felicia, on her part, warned against hasty implementation of the new policy, insisting that quality education remains the most powerful tool to promote progress, combat crimes and ensure the continual existence of the society. She added that any government policy, or decision, that could potentially truncate this worthy venture must be immediately jettisoned.
“These examinations are the foundation of any student’s academic pursuit in the country and must be jealously guarded so as to maintain its intended objectives. Therefore, the recent decision by the Federal Government to migrate WAEC and NECO examinations to CBT by next year is disconcerting, worrisome and troubling.
“Among other consequences, the migration will necessitate the deployment of objective questions and answers in the examinations which is unthinkable. This will not only promote laziness but also water down the near and remote effects of such examination. As a country grappling with economic challenges, we cannot afford to produce incompetent graduates.
“Finally, the apparent lack of infrastructure, digital illiteracy in rural areas among others and the consistent failures being recorded by UTME yearly are proof that we are not ready for this migration at this point in time.
“We, therefore, call for the total suspension of such move not just until 2026 but until we are truly equipped with necessary machinery, manpower and other wherewithal necessary for smooth operation so it will not be another case of intermittent failures as in the case of the UTME,” she stated.
Some experts also argued that CBT examinations might deter students from underserved communities which lack access to computers and internet connectivity, potentially widening the education gap.
What about the issue of security? Conducting CBT exams in centralised centres poses security risks, especially with early morning travel requirements”. Some experts question whether CBT will really eliminate examination malpractice, citing instances of cheating during JAMB CBT examination. They also noted CBT would increase burden on students as it would require them to travel long distances to exam centres, incurring additional costs and logistical challenges.
The hasty shift to CBT, according to some stakeholder,s could exacerbate existing inequalities between urban and rural students, as well as between those with access to digital tools and those without. CBT examination might also be prone to technical glitches, which could disrupt the examination process and affect students’ performance as witnessed during the conduct of the last UTME conducted by JAMB, where resit exams were organised for candidates at the expense of both the board and candidates.
While reacting to the proposed transition of public examinations to CBT, the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria, Mr Adeolu Ogunbanjo, said a natural first step would be for WAEC and NECO to construct at least one CBT centre in each of the 774 local government areas.
He noted that the examination bodies could put up such centres separately or collaboratively, but that the timescale was too short to complete this before the 2026 deadline.
Ogunbanjo also expressed concern about the unpredictable power supply, emphasising the importance of backup systems in all CBT centers.
“Next year is too soon to finish this. I will advise moving it to 2027. Adequate preparation is critical to ensuring that no student is left behind. WAEC and NECO cannot rely on current CBT centres employed by JAMB.
“There’s also the question of backup. We are all aware of the country’s current electricity issue. CBT centers must have dependable backup power to avoid downtime. We cannot have a situation in which pupils write tests using torches or lanterns. That would be embarrassing for a regional body like WAEC, and it should be avoided,” he said.
Speaking recently during monitoring of the pilot CBT Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by NECO at Sascon International School, Maitama, in Abuja, the minister, however, said there is no going back on full transition of NECO, WAEC and other public examination bodies, from paper to computer-based test (CBT) mode of examination in 2026.
Recall that Alausa had in January this year inaugurated a 17-man committee headed by Professor Is-haq Oloyede, Registrar of the Joint Administrations and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as chairman, on Improvement of the Quality of Examination in Nigeria.
The committee submitted its interim report to the Minister about two months after about five months of extensive work, coming up with far-reaching recommendations aimed at improving the quality of examination and curbing examination malpractices in Nigeria.
One of the recommendations of the Oloyede committee supported the government’s plan, noting that instead of waiting till 2027 as initially suggested, the Computer-Based Examination (CBE) should be implemented for objective questions in 2025 for private examinations and in full for school candidates in 2026.
Reacting to complaints by the public on lack of adequate infrastructure to support the phasing out of paper examination, Alausa disclosed that both privately-owned Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres and others belonging to public institutions would be fully deployed in the conduct of the examinations.
He said: “WAEC and NECO exams are school-based exams being conducted at their schools. No, we will move away from that. It is going to be like the way JAMB exams are being conducted at CBT centres. We have thousands of CBT centres across the nation.
“Those are the centres that we are going to use. It’s not a case of students not having the facilities. Schools do not need to have the facilities. We have enough centres. We also have to expand the value chain of these CBT centres. They should not just be to service JAMB alone. They should be able to service WAEC and NECO. The owners of these businesses have invested billions of Naira to set them up. So we also have to help develop a new value chain in our economy.
“We just have to work hard to get there. We cannot continue with this madness of exam practice, our exams being caught with cheating, leaked questions, both WAEC and NECO. If we allow this to continue, it will destroy the capacity of our youth, of our children.”
He also disclosed a phased rollout of CBT format across all school examinations, starting with objective questions this year.
“I’m a very happy person today that NECO has transitioned to CBT from paper-based. By November of this year, both NECO and WAEC objective exams will be full CBT. And by next year, 2026, all the essays and objective exams will be CBT. NECO and WAEC will be joining the league of JAMB. We are making significant progress,” he added.
Registrar of NECO, Prof. Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi, however, acknowledged that there were obvious challenges of infrastructure but this would not hamper the Council from conducting CBT examination, stressing that NECO as a professional examination body is ready to conduct examinations using any medium.
Wushishi expressed the readiness of the Council for CBT mode of examination. He said: “NECO is ready as a professional body to conduct examinations using any medium.
“We may have challenges of infrastructure, that is obvious, but then that will not bog us down not to do it. There are facilities that will give us the opportunity to conduct CBT and we are good to go for that. We are all aware that there are certain difficult terrains across the countries where we will not be able to meet up with that, except there are exceptional infrastructures to give us the opportunity to do that.
“But by and large, we are very, very much ready to do that as a professional body. Provisional infrastructures, we are calling for the government at the state level to speed up making provision for CBT infrastructures in their states, because that will highly support the process. Because we believe the process will reduce a lot of issues that have to do with examination malpractice and improve the quality of the examination and consequently, the results and certificates.
“And we are very happy that the results and certificates are recognized globally and we need to also do more in order to reach out across the world on our certificates and results. So NECO is fully ready as far as that is concerned.”
Also, speaking with Nigerian Tribune, the President of the National Association of University Students (NAUS), Comrade Josiah Peter Oche, commended the Federal Government’s initiative, saying the move is a step towards modernizing Nigeria’s education system. He, however, strongly advised caution and proper groundwork to ensure its sustainability and inclusiveness.
According to him, gradual Implementation is key, noting that the decision is too sudden. A phased approach must be adopted to avoid systemic shock, especially in rural and under-resourced schools. He spoke on infrastructure and accessibility. “Many schools, particularly in rural areas, lack access to electricity, computers, and internet. Without bridging this digital divide, the initiative may widen educational inequality,” he observed.
Oche also said training for teachers and students must be considered first because successful implementation requires nationwide training to prepare both teachers and students for the CBT system.
“Concerns about theory exams: clarity is needed on how theoretical or essay-based questions will be handled. A hybrid approach may be more effective; upgrade before implementation: the education system must first be upgraded, with investments in ICT infrastructure, digital literacy, and school facilities.
“We urge the Ministry to conduct pilot programmes, engage stakeholders, and collaborate with private and public partners to ensure a smooth, fair, and inclusive transition. This initiative has potential but must be driven by careful planning to prevent future regret,” NAUS President stated.
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