Two notable educationists, Dr. Dallat Gershom Danglah and Alex Maiyanga, have cautioned the authorities on the use of computer-based tests (CBT) in the conduct of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations in secondary schools across the country.

The duo, who spoke at the weekend in Mararaba, Karu in Nasarawa State during the annual Eagles Academy Speech and Prize Giving Day, stressed the need for the authorities to tarry awhile on the implementation of the proposed policy due to the challenges associated with computer literacy and power supply in the polity.

Danglah, who is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies at Nasarawa State University, acknowledged that the measure is in tandem with international best practices but noted that it’s unfortunate that the vast majority of secondary schools in the country lack the computers required for CBT in the conduct of both WAEC and NECO.

Danglah, who was the guest speaker at the occasion, faulted the notion held in certain quarters that CBT would be applicable in WAEC and NECO in view of the relative successes recorded when it was applied by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

He said, “It’s all right, it’s a good thing, though. But the question is, are we ready for this now? Because there are so many challenges that we’re going to encounter in this migration from paper and pen writings to computer-based writings, as you may remember, during JAMB, they encountered a problem.

“How are we sure that if we migrate completely from paper and pen to computer-based tests, we are not going to encounter the same problem? Because if you look at it carefully, as far as I’m concerned, in most schools now, they don’t have computers.

They don’t have infrastructure; there are not enough classes even to accommodate the students in a school, not to talk of even providing computers for them to drive these things.

“And the students themselves are not computer literate yet. The schools don’t have computers. Some parents don’t even have computers. Some parents don’t even have money to take their children to one of these computer training schools to prepare them for the CBT. So if the student doesn’t have efficient knowledge of computers, there’s going to be a problem here.

“And to make matters worse, there is NEPA to contend with. Because if you really want to operate, to use CBT—that’s a technology, right? You need NEPA. When the students are writing exams, NEPA on its own will take off the lights. And before they write exams, they are timed on this paper. If it is one hour, it is one hour. What if NEPA took off the light?”

Nevertheless, he said, notwithstanding the challenges, the CBT—if well implemented—is a good omen for teachers and lecturers, as it would relieve them of the stress of spending hours to mark scripts and curtail the issue of bias associated with awarding ridiculous marks to students in schools and institutions of higher learning.

Maiyanga, who is the proprietor of the Academy and taught at the University of Maiduguri and both Nasarawa State Universities, noted that, notwithstanding the fact that his school is well equipped with computers, he called on the authorities to provide stakeholders with the template for the implementation of the proposed policy.

He said, “One of the challenges is the provision of those materials because you can’t say you want to go to CBT and you don’t have enough computers for you to use. I guess they want to [adopt] the style of JAMB, and I think we will advise that they properly plan for it rather than just diving into it.

“You can dive into very deep water that you don’t know the dimension and the depth of, and if care is not taken, it will swallow you and then leave you to face the repercussions.”

Maiyanga, who has written extensively on Nigerian politics, education, and society, is known for his critical analysis of the country’s challenges and his advocacy for better governance and improved educational outcomes. (The Guardian)