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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
National Examinations Council (NECO) has explained that it may not adopt Computer-Based Testing (CBT) system in its examination soon as being suggested by some Nigerians.
It said its examinations are complex in nature, hence cannot be migrated to CBT as quickly as expected, though not ruling out its adoption in future considering the fact that the world is increasingly being infused into technological devices.
NECO Registrar, Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, made the clarification at an interactive session with newsmen on key milestones achievement of the Council in Abuja, on Wednesday.
He said that by virtue of being the body conducting the largest number of examinations in Nigeria, migrating to CBT would take gradual step because of some peculiarities.
“Some people are comparing us with JAMB but they forgot that JAMB does not examine candidates in so many subject areas. So, it was very easy for them to embrace CBT in their examinations.
“As far as NECO is concerned, if you look at the nature of our examinations particularly in SSCE (internal) which is used for admissions into tertiary institutions, every year we examine students close to 1.5 million which is a large number.
“We examine these candidates in 76 different subjects and more than 150 different papers. So, if we look at the complexity of this examination, particularly the essays where we have different papers, going CBT is something that experts need to sit and look at the nitty-gritty of the examination,” he said .
Wushishi said that this was to ensure that standards and integrity of its examination in the areas of acceptability, reliability and credibility is maintained.
He said that recently, international universities such as Lead University, and Birmingham City University, both in the UK, wrote the Council to confirm the processes and credibility of the examination because it’s being considered for use in admission processes.
The NECO boss said this showed the credibility and acceptance of its results to international institutions, hence would not rush in migrating to CBT which might affect the integrity of the process in the immediate.
Reeling the milestones of the Council, he said that in its 25 years of existence, the Council has discharged its responsibilities in line with the mandate of the organisation.
He also noted that, so far, the Council has examined 34 million Nigerians as well as conducted trial testing examination for selection of best items in its examination.
He added that on assumption of office in 2021, he embarked on nationwide tour of its offices, noting that this resulted in policies that had led to turnaround in the activities of the Council.
