NTI embarks on monitoring of first semester exams nationwide

By Aminu Imam

In the realization of the National Teachers’ Institute’s five point agenda aimed at repositioning the Institute’s programmes across board, the Director-General/Chief Executive, management staff and other senior staff of the Institute embarked on monitoring exercise of NTI’s Programme; first semester examinations across the country.

The management staff were detailed to all the 36 States of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The Director-General/Chief Executive, Dr. Aminu Ladan Sharehu, who monitored some NTI’s examination centers in person, disclosed that though this is not the first time the institute has embarked on this monitoring exercise this year’s exercise is unique because it goes without notice.

The Director-General also said the monitoring exercise affords the Institute the opportunity of extracting first-hand information of happenings across its over four hundred centers in Nigeria.

At the Government Secondary School Karu, in Nasarawa state, one of the NTI’s centers, the D-G had first-hand information, as he didn’t only meet the NTI staff at work but also interfaced with students to rub minds and share experiences.

The Director-General was also at Government Secondary School, Kubwa and Gwarinpa, where he met NCE 3 students (teachers) writing their Social Studies examination. Issues of conducive atmosphere for learning was top on discussions as the DG/CE engaged students (teachers) in conversation, on the kind of teaching and training they are receiving in the course of their studies.

The Director-General/ Chief Executive on the tour covered some States in the North-Central, North-West and North-Eastern part of the country. He visited Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi and Gombe States.

In Jigawa the DG/CE was at Government College, Birnin-Kudu, in Bauchi he monitored examination exercise at the Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina Unity College, Bauchi.

The issue of security of staff and students (teachers) during lectures and examinations was brought to the fore. The NTI members of staff in the various centers have taken measures at ensuring smooth running of the examinations. One of such is searching and checking of individual students and bags. The experience was not different at the Government Arabic College in Gombe.

At the end of the exercise the Director-General/Chief Executive expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the examinations generally. The DG/CE was particular about measures and strategies adopted by the Institute to curb examination malpractice. According to him some of the strategies include strict adherence to movement of question papers from the Institutes to examination centers and back to the Institute for marking.

In all, the monitoring exercise could be described as a step in the right direction and a success.