Don lauds JAMB’s innovation in changing results presentation

 

 

By Cecilia Ologunagba

New York, A Don, Dr Uchenna Uwakwe has lauded the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) innovation in changing the format of presenting candidates’ results.

Uwakwe, an associate Professor at the Directorate of General Studies, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, gave the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York.

Uwakwe spoke against the backdrop of a candidate, Mmesoma Ejikeme, who was reported to have manipulated her JAMB UTME scores.

The don said Nigerians wouldn’t have known the creativity of JAMB if not for the case of Mmesoma who manipulates her scores from 249 to 362.

“I commend strongly what JAMB has done and now look at Mmesoma presenting results of 2021 when the format changed in 2022.

“The format was used in 2022 and 2023 and I know that what has happened now, will make JAMB change the format again in 2024 and 2025.

“So there has to be a continuous change of the format of the presentation to prevent manipulation of scores,’’ he said.

According to him, JAMB has advanced with the introduction of passport photographs, QR codes and other features in the results.

“She didn’t know that the QR code was meant to be for the owner of the result. It was meant to capture the details of that results, so she felt it was just about changing the scores.’’

The don, however, said that her case should serve as a lesson for all the stakeholders in the education sector.

He said the Nigerian society required a lot of re-orientation, noting that in the U.S. several things had happened that made the society understand that it is not exactly feasible to forge certificates or to manipulate results.

Uwakwe said that Nigerian society had to come to that point where students would have to learn to receive examinations without fear.

“In Nigeria, examinations are feared, examinations are dreaded.

“Students dread examinations, parents dread examinations, school authorities dread examinations, and because of that fear for examinations these categories of people don’t have the confidence that examinations can be overcome, students don’t believe in themselves.

“Even when the teachers have done all they have to do to teach the students, they still believe that something must be done in addition to what they have taught the child to make an excellent grade.

“Until we come to that point, where we believe in ourselves as teachers, we believe that we can produce students that can be excellent and then we’ll pass it on to the students to let them know that they can pass examinations on their own,’’ he said.

In certain quarters, Uwakwe said you would hear people say that examination is not the true test of knowledge and what I ask is what then is the true test of knowledge?

You will find in all kinds of examinations and routines that people still believe that they have to manipulate in one way or the other, to be able to be promoted.

“That confidence is not there. It is exactly what has tricked our electoral system. It is what has gone into our electoral system. We believe that we cannot conduct elections that are free and fair.

“Now look at this girl, Mmesoma to have made 249, I’m sure it was our first attempt, and it was very commendable, but she wanted to be the best.’’

He attributed that attitude to a lack of confidence and bad orientation, noting that some students took SAT examination five times before they got scores that fetched them scholarships into Harvard University.

“You discover that for those that wanted to read law or medicine during our time, some had to write JAMB two times, three times but in Nigeria now, everyone believes that you have to write the exams once.

“I believe that what has happened to Mmemsola is a starting point for all the stakeholders to learn from and for the examining bodies to put a system on the ground to check examination malpractices,’’ the don said. (NAN)

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