The Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) is the body that conducts the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) – which Nigerians casually call JAMB. It is an annual computer-based multiple-choice examination for final-year secondary school students or anyone else looking to get admitted into a Nigerian university. The highest score is 400, and students answer questions from four different subjects. English Language is compulsory and candidates can pick three other subjects that are required for the degree that they want to pursue.
Between the 19th and 29th of April 2024, over 1.9 million Nigerians took the JAMB exam.
The JAMB registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, confirmed that only 8,401 candidates scored above 300 – that is 0.5% of all candidates. 77,070 scored 250 and above (4.2%). 439,974 scored 200 and above (24%). 1,402,490 scored below 200 (76%). In other words, most candidates did not perform so well.
This mass failure is nothing new when it comes to JAMB exams – candidates scoring above 300 is not the norm. While issues within the Nigerian educational system are evident, another critical issue needs to be addressed: the exclusionary nature of computer-based tests. In March 2024, the World Bank reported that less than 20 percent of households in Nigeria own computers. Most public schools do not have access to them as well. Many students are failing not due to their lack of knowledge, but because they do not know how to operate computers properly.
The JAMB examination is an important milestone in the academic journey of Nigerian students, as it determines their eligibility for university admission. The transition to a computer-based format in 2013 was intended to modernize the exam and improve its efficiency. However, this shift has highlighted the significant disparities in digital access and literacy.
The educational system is plagued by systemic problems that hinder student performance. Inadequate funding, poorly trained teachers, and outdated curricula are just a few of the issues. Many schools (especially government-owned) lack the resources to provide a wholesome education, let alone integrate digital skills into their activities.
The lack of access to computers affects students from rural and low-income backgrounds, who have little to no opportunity to develop computer skills. These students are then at a disadvantage when faced with a computer-based exam like UTME.
To gain a deeper understanding of these issues, I spoke with Blessing Tarfa, educator, research consultant, and creative director of Play.Ed Limited. “Lack of access means lack of practice, lack of skill and lack of confidence. Children need to be confident, and computers and technology can be intimidating. It is not the norm but the anomaly for anyone to excel at something they are doing for the first time – so, making them face such a device at the point of such a significant time of their lives, bearing the added burden of examination, their performance will definitely be affected,” she said.
She does not agree that the Nigerian educational system is adequately preparing students for computer-based tests. Adequate preparation means that CBT tests are already being practiced in schools, children are within learning ecosystems that already normalize CBTs and give them enough time to practice using computers as a test tool. “Children can be familiar with the parts of computers and other rudiments of Computers as taught in basic science. However, neglecting the applicable knowledge and use as regards to CBT until the day of the exam is not appropriate enough to justify that children can perform in CBTs just because they have the computers, or know how they work,” she said.
The question of inclusion was emphasised by Blessing. “What methods are children and learners in diverse communities already used to? What are they familiar with? Of course, CBTs are supposed to be encouraged. They reduce human errors in marking numerous scripts. The solution might not be to revert back to paper-based tests, but to upskill and upscale our educational and schooling capacities to incorporate the use of computers and CBTs more effectively. Mainstreaming CBTs into school systems also solves the problem of our digital divide and learning systems. Schools should have computers. It is no excuse for our educational system to make it normalised that children spend up to 9 years in an educational institution and never have access to CBTs until the day of their JAMB examination.”
Education should be the one object of a developed system that addresses inequality and creates level playing fields for all types of students to participate and excel. This means that no matter what, it must be inclusive on all levels.
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I am a young writer, editor, artist, academic, and passionate print journalist in training. My current goal is to publish a plethora of stories relevant to my community and interests such as politics, culture, health, environment, security, education, and gender. I am also a lover of arts and culture.
Twitter and Instagram @zainabnasreenm
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.
