The JAMB Oyo State Chief External Examiner, who also doubles as the Rector, Ibadan Polytechnic, Prof. Kazeem Adebiyi, in an exclusive interview with JAMBulletin on Monday, 8th May, 2023, bared his mind on the conduct of the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), other processes of JAMB and the state of the education sector in Nigeria.
During the interactive session, the Professor of Mechanical Engineering, highlighted the various achievements of the Board, particularly under the leadership of Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, while taking a holistic assessment of the Nigerian educational sector, using JAMB as a case study.
JAMBulletin: Over the years, policymakers have made various efforts to develop the education sector, what is your assessment of their efforts in connection with the current state of the sector?
CEE: We have made appreciable progress. Let’s take JAMB as an example, in the past, candidates, who wished to sit the UTME would queue to purchase application forms at designated banks and do the same after a long wait to buy scratch cards to check their results. All these have become history. This is because digitisation has improved educational processes across all levels in the country. The education sector is now open to investors to complement the efforts of the government. We may not be where we want yet, our good may not be the best, but an honest and objective evaluation of the sector in the last decade would show that we are not stagnant.
JAMBulletin: As the Oyo State Chief External Examiner of JAMB, you have firsthand contact with the Board, you understand its workings and how it had delivered on its mandate over the last few years. What do you think of today’s JAMB?
CEE: You know I started with JAMB. Except anyone wants to call a dog a bad name, then you’ll say JAMB has not developed over the years. For instance, there is a great improvement in this year’s UTME when compared with that of last year and I am sure that next year will be even better. Evidently, it has been a case of a yearly improvement on the part of JAMB. The evidence and the statistics support this claim, no one can deny this.
JAMBulletin: We concluded the conduct of the 2023 UTME recently with the administration of the supplementary examination on Saturday, 6th May, 2023. Considering the adoption of e-testing for UTME, what is your assessment of the growth of CBT in Nigeria over the years?
CEE: The Computer-Based Testing mode, to me, is a laudable step as it had enhanced the level of integrity associated with the UTME. Again, we have seen this in 2023 UTME in terms of the successes recorded. The concept of e-testing as obtained the world over is something that needs to be widely embraced in Nigeria as the level of adoption is still abysmally low. I observe that when our people apply for admissions abroad, they sit the relevant tests through their respective e-testing channels. For instance, in Sweden, which system I am familiar with, candidates sit occupational research examinations and some engineering courses through e-platforms. If that can be done at that level, what prevents us from embracing same in the country in line with global best practices. This is what JAMB is doing. I could recall years back when e-testing was introduced in the conduct of language tests like TOEFL and others which entailed a move from the paper-pencil test mode. If it can be done at that level, I don’t see why Board’s efforts to align with global best practices should not be commended and widely emulated.
JAMBulletin: The Board’s management led by Prof. Is-haq Oloyede has introduced some landmark policies, which have elicited favourable feedbacks from various quarters such as tertiary institutions, private investors and other government agencies. How would you rate the productivity these groundbreaking reforms have birthed?
CEE: As I said earlier, once you buy into an idea, you have to give it your all. Let us exemplify with CAPS. When it started, procedures were laid down for regularising illegal admissions, my institution bought into the idea and we ensure full compliance. It is important to understand that input determines output in a production system. For tertiary education to significantly improve in Nigeria, admission into our tertiary institutions must be devoid of anomalies. Institutions that have supported the Board’s vision can attest to the gains of complete compliance.
JAMBulletin: Speaking about compliance, the introduction of CAPS in 2017 and the recent integration of IBASS and CAPS in 2022 are a few of the Board’s proactive reforms. A reactive reform is the window of opportunity instituted by the Board to legitimise the illegal admissions done from 2017 to 2020, of which your institution is not a defaulter, could you, from a personal perspective, connect how compliance with the rules has improved the quality of students intake in your institution?
CEE: It is visible in the output. We have complied, hence, we do not worry about the readiness of our products to confront the challenges of life after graduation.
JAMBulletin: In conclusion, with a clear understanding of the progress recorded in the Nigeria’s educational sector and the role of JAMB, what is your advice for the sector’s key players?
CEE: What I would say is that there is an urgent need for regulators, including JAMB, to synergise for effective discharge of their mandates to move the nation forward through quality service delivery. If could recall what I said earlier concerning what compliance with admission guidelines has done for our institution where I had mentioned that, no matter how good your technology is, if your raw material (intakes) is not good, then your output (graduates) may not give the desired result. Hence, if we only orajorly process low-quality inputs in our educational institutions, we may not be able to get the desired results as a nation. So, in essence, cooperation with JAMB and other regulators is vital so that we can push for the realisation of other national goals and objectives.
Share your story or advertise with us: Whatsapp: +2347068606071 Email: info@newspotng.com
