The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, in 2016 encountered myriad of problems, ranging from the conduct of the UTME examination, discrepancies in results to admission criteria.
This according to analysts informed the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to axe the Registrar of the board, Prof Dibu Ojerinde, replacing him with a fomer Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Prof. Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede.
The new Registrar no doubt has a lot at hand. He has to make changes,address isssues, clarify confusions, all these he must do urgently.
Here is a look at some of the burning issues Prof. Oloyede need to address urgently:
1. CBT: To be or not to be?
JAMB first introduced the computer-based test (CBT) method of writing UTME in 2013, and conducted the examination in 2013 and 2014 using three modes- dual-based test, paper pencil test and CBT. In 2015, the board went full scale with CBT, which continued this year. However, due to series of calls and protests, the board cancelled it after the 2016 examination. Prof. Oloyede need to take a firm position on whether to continue with the CBT or not bearing in mind the fact that Nigeria need to move with the fast-moving world of technology.
2. Admission Criteria: The admission criteria also need to be reviewed. Why will an Adamu gain admission with a score of 150 and a John will be denied admission all because Adamu is from an Education Less Developed, ELD, state?
3. O'Level requirement: It is clearly written in JAMB brochure, to gain admission into Nigerian universities, one must have fulfilled the sacrosanct O level requirement of a credit in English language. Whether or not you pass a Nigerian language does not matter. In a country with over 250 ethnic groups, more than 500 languages, is this supposed to be? JAMB should at least, in addition to other requirements, ask for a credit in a local language. Its time we save our ‘dying’ other tongues.
4. Admission Cut-off: After JAMB might have set his general cut-off mark for institutions, many still go ahead to fix their required scores. Federal universities go for 200, states, 180 and for others, anything goes. The board under the new leadership need to take a firm stand in this area.
5. Private Schools' admission: ‘You have been offered admission into ……. University, please proceed to our admin office or call ….’ This is a message received by a friend, an artisan, who neither sat for UTME nor nurse the notion of going to school. This need to stop as several cases abound. The private institutions in a desperate move to make money give admissions to unqualified candidates.
6. Examination Centre Placement: In recent times, JAMB has been ‘unfair’ in allocating centres for candidates. A candidate in 2014 who registered in Osun state was ‘thrown’ to Gombe state, far north, just to sit for a 3-hour examination. JAMB need to quickly address this to reduce stress for candidates.
7. Who is in Charge of Admission?: Who is to admit a candidate to institutions? JAMB or the school senate? This should be a serious cause for concern for the new boss as is precipitated the removal of his predecessor. At first, JAMB said it will take care of admission list, send it to the institutions and make sure they adhere strictly to admission criteria. However, at the last minute, the board reneged on this decision, saying the school should go ahead to screen and compile admission list. This policy summersault need to be addressed.
8. Pre-degree Programme: Is JAMB aware that Nigerian students pay as much as 250,000 for 6-month programme to gain admission into federal universities? Constitutionally, JAMB is the only statutory body that has backing to conduct admission exams into public tertiary institutions, and under no circumstance whatsoever should any institution take over that responsibility by proxy. UNILORIN, where Prof. Oloyede was a former VC is also guilty of this. Irrespective of that, the pre-degree programme should either be regulated by the board or totally cancelled.
This according to analysts informed the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to axe the Registrar of the board, Prof Dibu Ojerinde, replacing him with a fomer Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, Prof. Ishaq Olanrewaju Oloyede.
The new Registrar no doubt has a lot at hand. He has to make changes,address isssues, clarify confusions, all these he must do urgently.
Here is a look at some of the burning issues Prof. Oloyede need to address urgently:
1. CBT: To be or not to be?
JAMB first introduced the computer-based test (CBT) method of writing UTME in 2013, and conducted the examination in 2013 and 2014 using three modes- dual-based test, paper pencil test and CBT. In 2015, the board went full scale with CBT, which continued this year. However, due to series of calls and protests, the board cancelled it after the 2016 examination. Prof. Oloyede need to take a firm position on whether to continue with the CBT or not bearing in mind the fact that Nigeria need to move with the fast-moving world of technology.
2. Admission Criteria: The admission criteria also need to be reviewed. Why will an Adamu gain admission with a score of 150 and a John will be denied admission all because Adamu is from an Education Less Developed, ELD, state?
3. O'Level requirement: It is clearly written in JAMB brochure, to gain admission into Nigerian universities, one must have fulfilled the sacrosanct O level requirement of a credit in English language. Whether or not you pass a Nigerian language does not matter. In a country with over 250 ethnic groups, more than 500 languages, is this supposed to be? JAMB should at least, in addition to other requirements, ask for a credit in a local language. Its time we save our ‘dying’ other tongues.
4. Admission Cut-off: After JAMB might have set his general cut-off mark for institutions, many still go ahead to fix their required scores. Federal universities go for 200, states, 180 and for others, anything goes. The board under the new leadership need to take a firm stand in this area.
5. Private Schools' admission: ‘You have been offered admission into ……. University, please proceed to our admin office or call ….’ This is a message received by a friend, an artisan, who neither sat for UTME nor nurse the notion of going to school. This need to stop as several cases abound. The private institutions in a desperate move to make money give admissions to unqualified candidates.
6. Examination Centre Placement: In recent times, JAMB has been ‘unfair’ in allocating centres for candidates. A candidate in 2014 who registered in Osun state was ‘thrown’ to Gombe state, far north, just to sit for a 3-hour examination. JAMB need to quickly address this to reduce stress for candidates.
7. Who is in Charge of Admission?: Who is to admit a candidate to institutions? JAMB or the school senate? This should be a serious cause for concern for the new boss as is precipitated the removal of his predecessor. At first, JAMB said it will take care of admission list, send it to the institutions and make sure they adhere strictly to admission criteria. However, at the last minute, the board reneged on this decision, saying the school should go ahead to screen and compile admission list. This policy summersault need to be addressed.
8. Pre-degree Programme: Is JAMB aware that Nigerian students pay as much as 250,000 for 6-month programme to gain admission into federal universities? Constitutionally, JAMB is the only statutory body that has backing to conduct admission exams into public tertiary institutions, and under no circumstance whatsoever should any institution take over that responsibility by proxy. UNILORIN, where Prof. Oloyede was a former VC is also guilty of this. Irrespective of that, the pre-degree programme should either be regulated by the board or totally cancelled.