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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Thursday conducted a promotional examination for 6,000 Directorate cadre staff under the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).
For candidates in the FCT, the computer-based test (CBT) was held at the JAMB CBT centre in Kogo, Bwari Area Council.
Speaking with journalists during the exercise, JAMB Registrar Prof Ishaq Oloyede said the exam was also conducted for candidates in the UK, USA, India, and Egypt.
He said, “I think that it’s important to say that this is a very bold initiative on the part of the Federal Civil Service Commission, and I’m not surprised about that because of the visionary leadership. I also believe that people do not need to die before death.
“The apprehension you could see when people are coming in as if computer is something that could not do, but we have a system, a system that allows you alternative routes. Once you know how to use your cell phone, you’ll be able to write our examination successfully because it’s just A B C and you don’t need to touch the mouse.
“This examination is taking place not only within Nigeria, it’s also taking place in four countries across the world. It’s taking place in the UK, US, India, and in Egypt. These are the four countries we have deployed our personnel.
“I believe that with what the Federal Civil Service Commission is doing, people will be less apprehensive about using computer because when I came into the hall, I could see apprehension, but by the time they saw what the instruction was and so on, I asked so many of them any question they were just smiling.
“So, I think we should not be afraid of things that we do not know; rather we should confront them. I want to appreciate once again the leadership of the Federal Civil Service Commission for taking this bold step.”
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Also speaking, the Commissioner representing FCT and Niger on the Federal Civil Service Commission, Dr Hussaini Adamu, said he was impressed with the performance of the candidates, revealing that the assessment commenced on Wednesday with about 1,500 candidates participating in three sessions.
He said, “My assessment is that we find the exercise to be an excellent one. It shows the experience of JAMB over the decades that they have been conducting this examination successfully. The candidates were earlier apprehensive, but after the commencement of the exercise, they are very happy and they actually preferred this process compared to the last system of using pen and paper. It is a transparent system.
“The halls have CCTV cameras that are watching remotely. The systems are working. The environment is conducive. The temperature using the air conditioners is okay and then the process is such that when they come before going into the hall there is a place where they are kept and it is secured.
“It’s a beautiful exercise, and the outcome of the previous ones and the first batch is good. I commend JAMB for being able to conduct this exercise in this manner with dignity of service. I don’t have the figure up here, but I know they are in thousands because even in this hall, we have more than 500 seats and we have conducted three batches yesterday, which possibly might be about 1,500 and today we are also going to conduct another three today.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Prof. Tunjiielt Olaopa, said it is the first time the commission is using CBT for the promotion examination of staff, saying he was impressed with the success recorded in the examination of 6,000 candidates for the director cadre.
He said, “It is a little progress, but significant for us in many senses. We know that computer-based tests are already popular, but at least for the Federal Civil Service Commission, this is the first time we are doing this. We are fortunate because we built our confidence on the fact that we are partnering with a sister institution like JAMB that has built up experience for decades.
“When everybody thought we should tread carefully, we had that confidence with Professor Ishaq Oloyede at JAMB, a national brand and someone who is a performer, a man of strong integrity, we knew that we could go ahead and we would succeed.”
