We have heard of how certain dubious persons are out to lure unsuspecting students into upgrading their JAMB score and the discovery of candidates who indulge in malpractice while sitting for the recently concluded examination. Besides these, the news of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board wanting to cancel some previously released results [which were said to be fake] has also rent the air- a similar scenario played out last year when JAMB recalled some results in order to make corrections.
On the current results; the media has been abuzz with the news of 311 [scored by a candidate from Gombe State] being the highest score thus far. But then, there has been a candidate who scored 337, and even before that, I have personally gotten to know about a lad [in Lagos State] who had 330 as his JAMB score and he got a printout of the result from JAMB’s website. The reason why their names did not get a mention in the media remains unknown.
Furthermore, there have been rumblings over the continual delay of the results of over 1.3 million candidates who have been earnestly [and anxiously] navigating the Board’s website to know their fate. It was expected that since the examination was a computer based test, the results should have been ready in good time. The delay however may not be unconnected with the fact that the Board is trying to do some checks and balances in order not to allow examination cheats go scot free- which is quite understandable though.
Notwithstanding, since the Board was aware of the possibility of examination malpractice beforehand, it ought not to have assured candidates of getting their results three (3) days sitting for the examination. The time needed for proper assessment should have been duly considered, and as such, a specific and certain time-frame would have been set for candidates to get their results without any delay. This could have helped curtail the incident of having to release and then recall students’ results.
As I bring this to a conclusion; I will like to say here that the computer based JAMB examination is far from perfect- the delay in giving out is just a testament. There were a number of candidates who had it rough on the system they were presented with- this is not necessarily due to the fact that they did not adhere to instructions but because the systems were malfunctioning- and in some scenarios, the servers were having issues. All these do not create a conducive setting for an examination as such could make a candidate to be unsettled and yet ‘bite’ into the time allotted for the examination. So, as we aim to measure up with the dynamics of a technology-inclined world, it is necessary that things be done in the right order to achieve a credible result- as saying goes; what is worth doing is worth doing well. The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board have got to look into all these issues and ensure that they are properly resolved before the next examinations.