The Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) is set to deploy Computer-Based Test (CBT) for the conduct of staff promotion examination as part of its reform plans.

To this end, the commission has outsourced the contract of the CBT to the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), to strengthen the professionalism of the commission.

FCSC  chairman, Prof. Tunji Olaopa, disclosed this at the maiden edition of the commission's monthly seminar series held in Abuja on Thursday, March, 21, 2024.

Olaopa, while giving insights into the partnership, said the commission was outsourcing the contract to NOUN as technical partner with a view to taking advantage of its infrastructure, network and experience.

This, according to the chairman, will enable online accreditation, CBT examinations and promotion interviews for officers in the federal civil service starting with the directorate level officers.

He noted that the commission was transiting through the upcoming 2024 promotion examination exercise from analogue-rooted practice to computer-based test and the modernisation and digitisation of its core operation.

“We are, however, hopeful that so far as all the efforts are channelled to strengthen the professionalism of the federal bureaucracy to enhance the potentials of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President to game-change Nigeria’s national transformation journey, thereby relieving the burdens and pains that the irreducible policies of the Federal Government may have created, then we are sure that we will not lack the oxygen required to keep the implementation of the reform programmes on course," he said.

The chairman informed them that the commission is introducing the installation of online recruitment portal for eligible candidates who will undergo computer-based test and oral interviews with results collated and released real-time.

NOUN’s Director of Examination and Assessment (DEA) Prof. Olugbenga Ojo, was a panellist at the workshop titled: “Institutional Framework and Procedures for the Conduct of Promotion Examination: Guaranteeing Integrity, Credibility, Transparency, and Accountability,” organised by the promotion department of the commission.

In an interview with Ojo, he said, he was there to give credence to the use of CBT for conducting promotion examination for directorate level.

"We have been here before to showcase what we can offer by showcasing our devices, it is to compliment the efforts of the commission. We told them the advantages of the CBT, and what they need to give us for us to function effectively," Ojo said.