The Federal Government has ordered the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) to fully adopt Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for their exams by 2026.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced this on Monday while monitoring ongoing exams in Bwari with officials from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, over 2 million candidates registered for the ongoing exams at more than 800 centres across the country.
Dr. Alausa said WAEC and NECO would start using CBT for their objective (multiple-choice) exams from November 2024. He added that by May or June 2026, both the essay and objective papers would be conducted through CBT.
“If JAMB can successfully conduct CBT exams for more than 2.2 million candidates, WAEC and NECO can do the same,” Alausa said.
He explained that the move to full CBT would help reduce exam malpractice. “That is how we can eliminate exam malpractices,” he said.
Alausa also revealed that a committee is reviewing the standard of examinations across the country and will submit its report next month.
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Meanwhile, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, spoke about complaints concerning the early arrival times for candidates. He explained that JAMB’s exams have always started at 8:00 a.m., but candidates must arrive by 6:30 a.m. for accreditation.
“We have always started our exams at 8 o’clock. The first session is 8 o’clock, the second session is 10:30, the third session is 1 p.m., and the fourth session is 3:30 p.m.,” Oloyede said.
He dismissed claims that candidates were being sent to centres they did not choose, saying investigations found no such cases.
Oloyede also shared that more than 1.6 million out of 2.03 million registered candidates had already completed their exams, with about 50,000 candidates remaining.
He revealed that more than 40 candidates had been arrested for malpractice, including impersonation and trying to smuggle out exam questions using hidden cameras.
Oloyede added that over 41,000 candidates who registered for the exam were underage.