By Vincent Ujumadu

Awka—THE Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, Dr. Adamu Kazaure has said that adopting computer –based method of assessment in tertiary institutions would boost quality of education in the country as it would help to minimize unethical practices associated with examinations.

Dr. Adamu-Kazaure

Speaking at a national workshop on ‘Restoring Academic Integrity and Engendering Quality Assurance in Nigerian Polytechnics and Monotechnics’ held at the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State, Kazaure said the success achieved by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, JAMB, through the adoption of the computer –based testing, was an indication that it was the right way to go.

He said: “For quite sometime, unethical practices have bedeviled and negatively affected the fortunes of the educational system in Nigeria, both at the basic and tertiary levels. This has adversely affected the quality of our products.

“Several measures, both internal and external, have been adopted to curb this monstrous development, especially in enrolment and output of graduates of our tertiary educational institutions. From all indications, it will appear as if the measures have little or no effect in curbing the problem.”

The rector of Oko Polytechnic, Professor Godwin Onu observed that there had been complaints about the falling standard of education, a situation he attributed to unethical practices in teaching and learning, as well as in examination administration, which had attracted a lot of criticisms and condemnation.

According to Onu, the education sector was being tasked and challenged to reposition and provide qualitative and functional systems that would meet the needs of the 21st century.

He identified the vices in the education system to include extortion of students, award of undeserved and unmerited scores after examination, gratification of all forms, cost implication of printing examination materials, sorting of various dimensions, late release of results and missing grades, arguing that the vices could be eliminated with the adoption of computer –based assessment.