13th October, 2016
Usage of substandard cables for computer interconnectivity has been identified as one of the causes of students’ failure in examinations.
An engineer, Mr Oluwafemi Oluwale of the Inter-Sky Digital Ltd. Jos, made the observation on Thursday in Kafanchan, Kaduna, at a one-day workshop on Information Technology.
The workshop was organised by a Kafanchan-based Non-Governmental Organisation, Fantswam Foundation.
Oluwale said that the use of poor quality cables contributed much to students’ failure in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations and West African Examination Council-organised tests.
He also said that such cables also caused damage in storage and dissemination of information in both private and public computer systems.
“Substandard cables account for the slow internet connectivity that does not allow students to meet up with allotted time for exams; hence, they perform poorly,” he said.
The engineer said that Nigerian market was flooded with imported substandard cables.
He said that although Nigerian cables were the best in the world, greedy and unpatriotic Nigerian businessmen and regulatory agencies allowed importation of the low quality cables.
“Some of the imported cables are iron-copper coated, instead of pure copper, which has very low resistance,” he said.
The expert urged government and private organisations to seek expert advice on how to identify and procure genuine cables for better computer connectivity.
In his remarks, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Fantswam Foundation, Professor John Dada, urged regulatory agencies to urgently sensitize Nigerians to the existence of substandard cables.
He added that concerted efforts should be made to rid Nigerian markets of substandard products.