The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has conducted a promotional examination for 6,000 Directorate cadre civil servants under the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who monitored the exercise on Thursday at the JAMB Computer-Based (CBT) centre in Kogo, Bwari Area Council, told journalists that the examination was also held for candidates in the United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), India and Egypt.
He described the CBT mode of examination for workers in the public service as a very bold initiative on the part of visionary leadership of the Federal Civil Service Commission in a drive to promote digital literacy in the Federal Civil Service in Nigeria.
“The apprehension you could see when people are coming in as if the computer is something that could not be done but we have a system that allows you alternative routes.
“Once you know how to use your cell phone, you’ll be able to write our examination successfully because it’s just A B C and you don’t need to touch the mouse. This examination is taking place not only within Nigeria, it’s also taking place in four countries across the world. It’s taking place in the UK, US, India and in Egypt. These are the four countries we have deployed our personnel.
“I believe that with what the Federal Civil Service Commission is doing, people will be less apprehensive about using computers because when I came into the hall, I could see apprehension, but by the time they saw what the instruction was and so on, I asked so many of them any question they were just smiling.
“So, I think we should not be afraid of things that we do not know rather, we should confront them. I want to appreciate once again the leadership of the Federal Civil Service Commission for taking this bold step.”
Also speaking, the Commissioner representing FCT and Niger on the Federal Civil Service Commission, Dr. Hussaini Adamu, said he is impressed with the performance of the candidates, revealing that the assessment commenced yesterday with about 1,500 candidates participating in three sessions.
He said, “My assessment is that we find the exercise to be an excellent one. It shows the experience of JAMB over the decades that they have been conducting this examination successfully.
“The candidates were earlier apprehensive, but after the commencement of the exercise, they are very happy and they actually preferred this process compared to the last system of using pen and paper. It is a transparent system.