ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Education stakeholders have called on the newly appointed Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Professor Segun Aina, to prioritise fairness, inclusiveness, innovation and improved technological efficiency in Nigeria’s examination system.
They made the call in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria, on Friday in Abuja following Aina’s appointment as head of the examination body.
National President of the Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria, PTA, Mr Bonyface Odeh, described the appointment of the 39-year-old professor as appropriate, noting that age should not be a barrier to leadership responsibility.
“A professor in Nigeria is a professor all over the world. If he is qualified to become a professor, then he is qualified to hold any public office entrusted to him,” Odeh said.
He, however, urged the new registrar to urgently address challenges surrounding the Computer-Based Test, CBT, system, particularly poor access to computers in many secondary schools across the country.
“We do not have computers in many secondary schools in Nigeria. A child who has never seen a computer before is expected to sit for a university admission examination using a computer. That is a serious challenge,” he said.
Odeh added that while the CBT system was a positive reform, schools must first be adequately equipped to ensure students acquire basic digital literacy before sitting examinations.
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He also called for more flexible policies on correction of candidates’ personal details, stressing that genuine errors in names and age should be corrected without unnecessary bottlenecks.
“Nobody is above mistakes. If a child makes an error in spelling or arrangement of names, there should be a provision for correction,” he added.
The PTA president further urged the Federal Government to ensure fairness and strict adherence to the federal character principle in appointments into key national institutions.
He expressed optimism that the new registrar would build on existing reforms while addressing gaps in the examination system.
An education analyst, Mr Nathaniel Adamu, also expressed confidence in Aina’s capacity to drive innovation, saying his background in technology positions him to improve JAMB’s operational efficiency.
He said the new registrar’s youthfulness could help him better understand challenges facing candidates in the digital examination era.
“We now have a young person who will think the way young people are thinking and bring innovations that will make JAMB better than it has been,” Adamu said.
He added that technology-driven solutions would help reduce technical glitches and strengthen the credibility of examinations.
Similarly, the Principal of Grace of God Schools, Mr Bassey Bassey, described the appointment of younger leaders into education administration as a positive development for sectoral reform.
He said competence and capacity should take precedence over age, noting that younger administrators often possess the energy required to modernise education systems.
Bassey urged the new registrar to tackle challenges in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, including limited CBT centres, long travel distances for candidates and technical failures during exams.
He also called for stronger collaboration between government and private operators to improve infrastructure and consider biannual UTME examinations.
Another school administrator, Mr Enyi Michael of Maria Assumpta School, said youthful leadership would help address emerging challenges such as system hacking and digital examination management.
He expressed optimism that the new registrar would introduce reforms capable of correcting existing abnormalities within the system.