Technology has been identified as a key element that will bring value and help develop the education sector in the country, particularly in examination administration.
Robert Ikazoboh, the managing director, Dragnet Solutions, owners of the Face Of Testing, Nigeria’s first indigenous computer-based testing solution as well as Scholastica, a leading e-scholarship and bursary solutions in the country, made the remark during a media parley in Lagos.
According to Ikazoboh, the deployment of technology will engender the speedy growth of the education industry. “We can’t begin to talk about moving this country forward without focusing on the education sector. The fact is that the sector is the warehouse from which the brains that will move the country forward will emerge from. And in this jet age, we must do all we can to bring the sector up to speed and we need to do this using cutting edge technology,” he stated.
Ikazoboh made special reference to the Computer Based Testing (CBT) initiative, which he described as the future of examination assessment in the country, while he also called on Nigerians to accept the CBT option being introduced by the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) in its examination.
“By now, this country should be adopting CBT in virtually all of our educational institutions especially the secondary and tertiary institutions. We simply can’t go on with the Paper To Pen (PPT) mode of assessment in this country. Imagine the cumbersome task the teachers face especially when they have many students to attend to.
“With CBT, the results of tests are ready just as the candidate concludes the examination and there is no need to physically handle the scripts. That is why we applaud JAMB for taking the bold step by adopting CBT for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME),” he stated.
Ikazoboh also called on public and private sector scholarship and bursary awarding institutions to use technology platform in disbursing scholarships and bursaries. This, he stated, will make the process more credible and efficient.
“While most private and public institutions are striving to contribute their quota to the education sector by awarding scholarships and bursaries, we must ask ourselves how impactful the process has been. More often than not, we see individuals getting two or more scholarships or bursaries while other deserving and eligible individuals are left out. That is sad.
“But by going the technology route, we can manage scholarship and bursary disbursement such that ghost recipients as well as multiple recipients become a thing of the past.
For instance, you can use biometric technology which simply entails identifying individuals with their distinct properties like fingerprint while deploying the scholarship. That will surely bring efficiency and value to the system,” he stressed.
Ikazoboh assured that Dragnet Solutions is poised to contribute its quota to the development of the education sector by offering top class technological solutions which will solve the myriad of challenges facing the sector. “Dragnet Solutions appreciates the important role that technology should play in the education sector and that is why we are bringing in cutting edge technology.
“We already have Face of Testing, which is our own computer based testing solution and the product has made a huge impact in the market. Don’t forget that it is Nigeria’s first and the only indigenous CBT product today.
“In addition to that, we also have Scholastica, which is also the first and only e-Scholarship and bursary management solution and the product is in high demand especially from some of the top scholarship awarding companies in the country. Indeed, Dragnet Solutions is committed to contributing her own quota towards the development of the education sector through our cutting edge technological solutions,” he concluded.
