PREPARING FOR THE 2026 COMPUTER-BASED SSCE.

The Federal Government has announced that the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) will be computer-based as from 2026 (https://tribuneonlineng.com/no-going-back-on-transition-of-neco-waec-others-to-cbt-fg/ ; https://fmino.gov.ng/fg-unveils-full-transition-to-cbt-for-waec-and-neco-by-2026-commends-necos-pilot-scheme/) . The multiple-choice sections will be done as in the UTME, so most candidates can learn what to expect from their older brothers and sisters. However, the other sections (practicals, essays, comprehension and summary) will also be computer-based. How can the candidates, parents, schools, examination bodies , governments, etc prepare for a hitch-free exam next year? 

1. Students (beginning from SSS 1, if not earlier) should start using their holidays to learn typing at the computer centres near them. While most students can type and send text messages, emails, social media posts and comments, etc from their phones (and can therefore easily type their essay, comprehension and summary answers in the English Language papers), they need to learn how to type fractions, superscripts, subscripts, integral signs, matrices, vectors, chemical equations, etc and how to draw complex diagrams before they can type their answers correctly in Maths and other science subjects. What about typing Yorùbá answers with the right tonal marks? They need to undergo training in using Microsoft Office, Corel Draw, etc and typing with 10 fingers instead of 2 (for greater speed). Most smartphone Office apps (such as WPS Office) do not allow typing fractions, matrices, vectors, etc (which are on the laptop and desktop Office apps) but only allow subscripts, superscripts and some diagrams (with the help of screenshots and photo editing). Hence, students should be trained in the desktop and laptop Office apps. After all, they will write their exams on desktop or laptop computers, not on smartphones. Smartphones can, however, help them access and view videos (from YouTube, Tiktok, etc) on using these apps. 

2. Parents should buy smartphones for their children and enrol them for computer training during the holidays, as discussed above. Smartphones will also give them access to the online versions of Advanced Learners' dictionaries (which are always fuller than the print versions, which must be portable). They can find zillions of synonyms and antonyms for any word through Google-search links to thesauruses (special dictionaries containing synonyms, antonyms and related words). This will help them solve crossword puzzles (also obtainable online), which will help enrich their vocabularies.  

3. Schools should start exposing their students to computer-based exams from SSS 1. Assignments can even be typed on phones and sent to teachers' email boxes. This will improve their proficiency in typing. 

4. Exam bodies should record videos of some sample students writing the exams on computers and post the videos online. This will help prepare the less-exposed students in rural schools. It will also confirm the feasibility of the computer-based exam system before the exams begin.      

5. (a) The government (in conjunction with the power holding companies) should ensure a regular uninterrupted electricity supply to all the examination centres throughout the exams. (b) After equipping the public schools with computers and stable electricity, the govt should also provide subsidized e-libraries and computer centres in town for other people (including private school students) to patronize.

6. With the computer-based exam systems, school teachers will no longer need to find specimens for Agric and Biology Practical exams. Hence, no teacher will have a foreknowledge of the specimens his students will identify and answer other questions on. Each candidate's computer will bring pictures or videos of his or her own unique set of specimens. Therefore, each candidate should Google all the unfamiliar organisms, etc in the Agric and Biology syllabuses ahead of the exam, screenshot their pictures and store the pictures into a Practicals folder for constant viewing. The specimens can come from the ocean floor, the desert , the top of a tree, or any unfamiliar habitat within the scope of the syllabus. 

7. The first set of candidates should be given an extra hour or 2 to get used to the new system. This will reduce the public outcry.

8. Marked printouts of each student's scripts (along with his or her unique set of questions) should be scanned into the exam body's online database for concerned parties to consult after the results are released. This feedback system will ensure transparency and accountability. With time, e-marking can be done without having to print out the candidates' e-scripts.

BENEFITS OF THE COMPUTER-BASED EXAMS

1. Typing will shield students from the effects of an illegible handwriting and also help markers with poor eyesight to mark essay-type answers well.

2. The computer will ring most wrongly-spelt words and suggest probable correct ones. This will reduce candidates' spelling errors (at least in Arts subjects). Students should, however, beware of suggested corrections to scientific names.   

3. Students will be able to cancel errors and make corrections without making their scripts unsightly. 

4. Every candidate will get as much writing space as he or she needs, without being constrained by the lack of enough extra sheets.   

Happy preparation to all the concerned stakeholders.