MURIC hails JAMB over action against erring CBT centres
By Peter Usman://
An Islamic human rights organisation, the Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has commended the Joint Admissions Matriculations Board, JAMB over its swift response to the challenges and disciplinary actions meted out to erring Computer Based Test, CBT centres during the ongoing examinations by the board around the country.
MURIC, in a statement issued yesterday by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, and made available to our correspondent in Abuja, said though JAMB is not perfect, it “deserves accolades having performed creditably well and succeeded in keeping its head above in the murky waters of the Nigerian ecosystem.”
The organization expressed pleasure with the way and manner JAMB has displayed transparency, accountability and high level discipline without compromising administrative efficiency.
“We monitor national examinations in this country and we know what happens in many of them. But JAMB has been able to rise above the maddening crowd.
“The examination body has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that it will not take any nonsense from anybody. The swift manner with which JAMB delisted twenty four (24) CBT centres within 24 hours of receiving credible reports of their misdemeanour leaves us in no doubt whatsoever that there will be no hiding place for those who fall short of expectations.
“A case in point is one of the CBT centres in Lagos where candidates who were billed to start the examination by 7 am on Saturday, 19th June, 2021 were kept sitting in the hall from 7 am to 3 pm doing virtually nothing. Meanwhile the 9 am batch as well as other batches were kept waiting outside. They were only told to go home around 3.30 pm after wasting the whole day. The centre’s excuse was that its computer systems failed to come up.
“We were very excited when the centre’s name was found among the 25 delisted centres 24 hours later. We are still marvelling at the efficiency and high level discipline manifested by JAMB. This is how things are made to work in a serious country. There must be consequences for negligence or if some people abdicate their responsibilities. What we need is strong systems and a culture of discipline. That is what JAMB is giving us.
“The posting of candidates far away from their bases is an area JAMB may want to look into for improvement. There is always room for better performance in any institution. We discovered during monitoring that some parents and guardians had to accompany their children and wards respectively to sleep overnight somewhere close to the centre.
“We understand the need for JAMB to remove the proximity and comfort zone factor in order to reduce the level of examination malpractices but perhaps something can still be done to alleviate the suffering of both candidates, parents and wards. This will add lustre to JAMB’s human face.
“Credit must also be given to JAMB for ensuring that the persecution of female Muslim candidates which used to be widespread in the South West during its examination has been reduced to its barest minimum. This was made possible by adequate briefing and enlightenment sessions organised by JAMB for its staff and ad hoc workers prior to the examinations,” Akintola stressed.