The Nation Newspaper

Tag: JAMB

  • ‘JAMB is right to redistribute candidates’

    ‘JAMB is right to redistribute candidates’

    The president of the Association of Proprietors of Innovation and Vocational Institutions (APIVI), Dr. Andrews Jegede, has faulted opponents of the new policy by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, (JAMB), which seeks to redistribute successful candidates in the Unified tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) whose scores are below the requirements of their universities of first choice, to other universities that meet such requirement.

    Jegede, who spoke in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, explained that tertiary institutions in the country have turned post-UTME process into a money-making venture, which now constitute a part of their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) drive. Over the past two weeks, criticisms have continued to trail the new admission policy of the examination body, as students and parents protested at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) about three weeks ago.

    He explained that post-UTME has made the cost of tertiary admission highly exploitative and expensive at the expense of the poor masses.

    He said: “Nigeria is not the only country that has university admission regulatory body; it is all over the world. Then, why should Nigerians interfere in the affairs of the country’s tertiary admission regulatory body saddled with the responsibility to conduct entrance examination for eligible candidates and place them into the university of their choices if such candidate meets the university’s cut off mark?

    Jegede praised JAMB for introducing the computer-based test (CBT), which according to him, had reduced examination malpractices in the system, and rendered Post-UTME unnecessary.

    “Since the establishment of JAMB, there was never a time a decision was taken in isolation of other stakeholders in the system; the vice chancellors, registrars, rectors of polytechnics, provosts of colleges of education and heads of innovation institutions in the country are always carried along. Before this became public, we all met at a roundtable in Abuja to take a decision on this year’s admission process,” Jegede said.

    He continued: “When JAMB released this year’s cut-off point for admission, every university has its in-house admission standard, and that any student whose score does not fall within a particular university pass mark, JAMB has the statutory right to send his particulars to another institution where he or she could be considered, It could be polytechnic, college of education or private institution. So, also the candidate has the right to accept it, or re-apply to another.”

     

  • JAMB: 32,000 candidates to write UNILAG post-UTME

    JAMB: 32,000 candidates to write UNILAG post-UTME

    More than 32,000 candidates are expected to write the 2015 post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) into the University of Lagos, the institution’s Deputy Registrar (Information), Mr. Olagoke Oke, said yesterday.

    The examination is scheduled to hold from Aug. 12 to Aug. 14.

    The figure is almost four times the 9,000 that was initially allocated to the institution by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    The board and some public universities had agreed to raise the bar of the cut-off marks of their institutions from 200 to 250 for the various courses.

    The development sparked an outrage across the country with parents and other stakeholders, asking the federal government to intervene.

    The decision was later reversed after consultations between the Prof. Dibu Ojerinde-led JAMB and the federal government.

    “All logistics toward a smooth conduct of this examination are fully in place. We have always been ready for situations like this and have always got it right,” Oke told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    “Before now, we were hoping to put logistics in place for the initial 9,000 candidates, but with the reversal of the decision, we now have to re-adjust and I want to say that we are fully prepared.

    “All our computers and its accessories, the backups, alternative power supply as well as adequate personnel that will conduct the examination are all ready.”

    The deputy registrar said the university was compelled to extend the exercise to three days because of the large number of candidates seeking admission into the institution.

    He, however, advised candidates to arrive early at the examination centres for a hitch-free exercise.

  • Time to scrap JAMB

    Time to scrap JAMB

    President Muhammadu Buhari, on October 28, 2010 at the Centre for Women Development and as presidential candidate under the platform of Congress for Progressive Change, presented his blueprint for the transformation of education sector to Joint Education Stakeholders Action Coalition (JESAC), a voluntary association of 19 critical education unions and associations in Nigeria.

    The continued relevance of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was raised and vigorously debated.

    The recent admission policy somersault of  JAMB which has generated protests, court cases and public outcry make it necessary for Mr. President and all critical education stakeholders to again reflect deeply about JAMB.

    I still maintain that JAMB is a wicked policy. It should be scrapped, dissolved or merged with another more relevant agency. This is not a case of joining in the excitement, euphoria and frenzy of the moment. It is an opinion I have always held based on calm, selfless, objective and patriotic analysis of facts gathered over a period of 20 years as CEO of Exam Ethics Marshals Movement.

    JAMB was established in 1978 by military decree by the then Federal Military Government under the leadership of General Olusegun Obasanjo. The decree was amended in 1989 and again in 1993. JAMB is therefore the product of an era when the military wanted full control of every sector and everything. The 1993 JAMB decree provides in Section 5 (1) that “…the Board shall be responsible for the general control of the conduct of matriculation examinations for admissions into all Universities, Polytechnics (by whatever name called) and Colleges of Education (by whatever name called) in Nigeria… and for the placement of suitable candidates in tertiary institutions”

    The era of central military control of everything is now over. The businesses of banking, telephony, aviation, power, etc have since been deregulated and Nigeria is better for it. But there is a curious ambivalence in the education sector with the wicked policy of JAMB still being retained.

    The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria makes continued existence of JAMB anachronistic. Education is under concurrent legislative list in the constitution. Sections 29 and 30 of part II of second schedule of concurrent legislative list state that “a house of Assembly shall have power to make laws for the State with respect to the establishment of an institution for purposes of university, technology or professional education” The laws establishing federal universities state clearly that “the selection of persons for admission as students at the university is the function of the University Senate”

    The Federal Universities of Technology Act 1986, Federal Colleges of Education Act 1986 and Federal Polytechnics Act 1979 all vest the function of admission of students on the institutions. I am still in search of legal answers as to why the power of JAMB supersedes constitutional provisions, the power of State Houses of Assembly with regard to State Tertiary Institutions and the powers of various institutions as enshrined in their enabling laws.

    The baffle of continued existence of JAMB is compounded by the fact that the JAMB experiment is an unmitigated failure. The story of JAMB is the story of running crises, re-enacted year after year. It is a classical case study of what psychologists refer to as mad people doing the same thing consistently and expecting different results.

    • Onyechere is Founding Chairman, Exam Ethics Marshals International

  • JAMB’s insensitive admission policy

    SIR: The above best describes the latest but reversed admission policy dished out by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB). It was nothing but an attempt to conspire with tertiary institutions in the country to further compound the plights and educational woes of hapless and frustrated Nigerian youths who have over the years become objects of exploitation by the powers that be. But thankfully, same has boomeranged on the board and the universities.

    This thoughtless policy was brought to the fore two weeks ago when candidates seeking admission into the University of Lagos arrived that very morning only to discover that the goal post had been shifted in the middle of the game, as it were. It is important to state that the university had earlier sold out admission forms for to the prospective students for the exercise without informing them of this sudden change.

    This conspiracy theory became further exposed by the lame argument of JAMB spokesman, Fabian Benjamin,  that the university was right to have jacked up the minimum admission cut-off mark from the widely acceptable and recognised 180 to 250.

    The Board, in yet in another breath, overreached itself when it unilaterally redistributed and/or reassigned candidates to the so-called “starved” institutions without the candidates consent or input. This action is not only oppressive and reprehensible; it is also a flagrant violation of the law establishing the Board. Beyond the conduct of entrance examinations into higher institutions in Nigeria, JAMB has no power whatsoever to determine the choice of the institutions a candidate makes. This can be explicitly explained under Section 5  (1) (c) (iii)of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Act, Chapter 193, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which states that in placing candidates into tertiary institutions, the Board shall take into account “the preferences expressed or otherwise indicated by candidates for certain tertiary institutions and courses”. The whole policy appeared tailored to enrich these institutions at the peril of the candidates.

    Assuming, but not conceding, that the Board had the mandate to so act, one expects that it should have factored so many things into perspective before doing that, including but not limited to the financial capacities of these candidates and the high tuition fees often charged by these receiving institutions, especially the private ones. The policy is also not in tandem with the inalienable rights to freedom of association and choice as guaranteed under our extant law, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,  1999 (as amended).

    For the fact that the Board could contemplate such a sensitive policy with little or no input from critical stakeholders and also attempted to force same down the throats of the candidates clearly showed the level at which impunity lack of transparency have taken over our public sphere. Perhaps, if the public outcries hadn’t been this tense, the Board and its university allies would have implemented the new exploitative guideline without regard to its impact on the candidates and their helpless parents. This is never done in modern societies, and Nigeria cannot be an exception.

    The Board’s defence for the violation of its own guidelines by some tertiary institutions is a clear indication that it has lost its bearing and focus. The 150, 180 Cut-off mark for admission into Universities, Polytechnic and Colleges of Education, respectively, should be sacrosanct. The argument by the Board that the tertiary institutions should on their own accord determine the benchmark for the Post UTME screening is, in every wise, ineffable, illogical and shallow. Such practice, if allowed, will amount to double jeopardy for the candidates who are also compelled to go through the rigours of the so-called UTME screening in addition to the pains of scaling the hurdles of the Board’s own examinations.

    President Muhammadu Buhari must ensure that no Nigerian youth is reduced to an object of exploitation by public or private bodies under his government. That era of impunity should be over by now. The media and civil groups should equally play a role in ensuring that the excesses of some these overzealous public institutions and government parastatals are constantly put under check.

     

    • Okoro Gabriel, Esq.

    Lagos

     

  • NUT to governors: don’t divert bailout fund

    NUT to governors: don’t divert bailout fund

    [dropcap]T[/dropcap]eachers, under the auspices of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), yesterday advised governors not to divert the bailout funds for workers but ensure that such funds are used to pay salary arrears.

    The NUT expressed concern about the continuous delay in the payment of teachers’ salary by many states despite President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention, aimed at helping cash-strapped states in paying arrears of salaries which they owe workers.

    Besides, the union urged the Federal Government to intensify efforts in the fight against the Boko Haram sect and further secure schools in the Northeast, the region most affected by insurgency.

    Secretary-General Obong Obong said in a statement issued in Abuja: “The Nigeria Union of Teachers has been following recent developments in the education sector in the country.

    “As an organisation saddled with the responsibility of protecting the rights and welfare of teachers as well as promoting and advancing the course of education and the teaching profession in Nigeria, the NUT particularly appraised the state of affairs in the primary and secondary education sub-sector with a view to highlighting our concerns for the attention of all tiers of government.

    “We commend the concerns so far showed by President Buhari and we believe Mr. President is committed to repositioning the education sector for the benefit of the citizenry and the development of the nation.

    “The NUT is concerned about continuous delay in the payment of teachers’ salary by a number of state governments despite the intervention of President Buhari with bailout funds provided to help them pay arrears of salaries to workers in the affected states.

    “While the non-payment of the backlog of salaries and other entitlements owed teachers has caused untold hardship and pain to the affected teachers and their dependents, it is even more disturbing to note that the bailout funds for some states are reported to have being seized by banks due to debts owed by the state governments.

    “This development to say the least, undermine the commendabel efforts made by President Buhari to address the precarious issue. The NUT therefore calls on the affected states to ensure that funds are not diverted but used for the payment of the salary arrears without further delay.

    “Also of concern to the NUT is the reported threat by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to withhold the results of candidates who wrote the May/June 2015 WASSCE in 19 states due to non-payment of registration fees of over N4 billion by the state governments.

    “It is important to state here that the policy of the states to take responsibility of the payment of the WASC Examination fees is commendable, as it was meant to lessen the financial burden on parents and guardians.

    “However, the failure of the debtor – states to fulfill their pledge to WAEC smacks of the characteristic lip service and political grandstanding of governments to public education, which is key to the transformation and future wellbeing of the Nigerian children.

    “Certainly, this unwholesome development portends danger to the future and educational prospects of the candidates and we demand that the issue be timely resolved by the affected states to ensure prompt release of the result to the candidates.

    “Government should not toy with the future of our children on the altar of politics. If they are not sincere and committed to paying the exam fees to their students, they should stop the grandstanding and allow parents to take the destiny of their children in their hands.

    “Furthermore, the NUT observed with dismay the recent protests by parents and candidates seeking admission into higher institutions over the alleged increase in the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) cut-off marks by some universities as against the decision of the 2015 combined policy meeting on admission that pegged the cut-off marks at 180 for universities and 150 for other tertiary institutions such as polytechnics and colleges of education.

    “The protest was also directed at the policy of JAMB assigning candidates of universities with surplus applicants for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to other Universities with lower number of applicants than their capacities attracted the anger of the protesters.

    “Although, the policy of JAMB is well intended to reduce waste and to provide the candidates space in institutions other than their first choice, it is our view that the policy failed to take into account the right of the candidate to choose his/her institution of learning.

    “It is therefore our submission that in order to draw a nexus between the laudable objective of JAMB and the desire of the candidates to choose their institutions, JAMB should reconsider the position of a second choice University for all candidates.

    “We wish to use this opportunity to once again draw the attention of the Federal Government to the need for the retirement age of primary and secondary school teachers to be raised from 60-65 years as in the case of Judges and Tertiary school Teachers.

    “This has become imperative considering the alarming rate of teachers’ retirement without a corresponding recruitment which has resulted to acute lack of teachers experienced by states across the country.

    “A case in point is the reported policy of Katsina State government to re-engage retired teachers to fill existing vacancies in the primary and secondary education sub-sector in the state.

    “While this stop-gap approach employed by Katsina State is commendable as it would provide temporary solution to the problem in the short-run, it cannot be seen to be a preferred and enduring solution to the deplorable issue of teachers is less cost effective as it involves payment of both monthly pension and the salary for the contract appointment.

    “Government should therefore consider as a matter of necessity the raising of teachers retirement age from 60 to 65 years in order to further benefit from the experience of the teachers as well as to address the man power needs in the school system.

    “The NUT will not fail to reiterate its call on the Federal Government to intensify its efforts in the fight against insurgency, particularly in the Northeast of the country.

    “We urge the administration of President Buhari to do more in securing our institutions of learning to ensure safe environment for effective education delivery in the country.”

  • JAMB: Opposing a beautiful idea at infancy

    Last week, as the protests raged about the new policy of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (Board), I remembered Mathew 22:14, “many were called, few were chosen.” The policy, which seeks to redistribute candidates whose UTME scores are less than the demand of their institutions of first choice, which have limited spaces to other institutions within the same location, which have spaces but not applicants ruffled a few feathers.  If there is anything that practically demonstrates the truth of that saying that many are called but few are chosen, it is the annual Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) organized by JAMB. Annually, over one million sit for examination but less than half of them stand a chance of being admitted, not because they will not pass, but because there are not enough spaces and in most cases, few notable institutions with limited spaces are jam-packed while others do not have applicants.

    Formerly University Matriculation Examination (UME) until 2010, when the entrance examinations into universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and monotechnics were merged into what is today known as UTME, the platform allows candidates to sit for one examination and have a fair chance of getting admitted into any higher institution in the four categories. Though it was criticised at first, that initiative has, today, become commendable. By merging the two examinations, not only did JAMB, under the leadership of the incumbent Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, relieved the country of the huge resources it expended on the two separate exams; parents were saved money spent on two examinations and candidates were saved of stress and needless journeys to write the two examinations.

    Three years after, JAMB again stepped forward to introduce another innovation in the public examination sector, the Computer Based Test (CBT). This too, like every new development in Nigeria, was greeted with criticisms and opposition, with nearly everyone becoming instant experts on how CBT could never work in Nigeria. But the JAMB Registrar, a professor of Education Measurement, despite the criticisms of the CBT scheme, was undeterred and led the examination body to achieve what has today become first of its kind in public examination and testing in Africa. Explaining the reason behind JAMB’s decision to embrace CBT, Professor Ojerinde had, in a lecture at the University of Ibadan, stated that JAMB introduced Computed Based Testing (CBT) because it would curb examination malpractices, reduce the waste of resources and the need to follow the technological trend in examination. “Everybody is going technological and if Nigeria decided not to join, I’m sorry we will be left behind, so we should do CBT. It is the answer to exam malpractices,” the JAMB boss had stated.

    Today, UTME candidates get their results same day they finish the examination or within 48 hours. Before CBT, candidates would travel hundreds of kilometres to check results after three months of writing UME or PCE. Is CBT a success or a failure? Did it fail as most Nigerians feared it would? I leave the public to judge.

    While the merger of the UME and PCE and the introduction of the CBT are not the only achievements recorded by Ojerinde, they will remain important landmarks in the life of the board and the country. But he has achieved both amid distrust and opposition from most quarters.

    Therefore, when I saw the protests that erupted at the University of Lagos regarding the new JAMB policy, which is capable of reducing the wastage of high scores and making candidates wait endlessly for non-existent opportunities, the first thought that came to my mind was – are we not being impatient with Ojerinde again?

    I looked for answers to the ugly situation that has seen parents and candidates affected calling for the sack of the JAMB Registrar. What exactly is the crux of the matter? Where did JAMB get it wrong with that policy being protested at? And is it true that JAMB will make N1 billion from the redistribution exercise?

    The JAMB Registrar is a technocrat in every senseof the word, having successfully headed the National Board for Education Measurement (NBEM) and later the National Examination Council (NECO), which today is the only truly-Nigerian examination body for secondary schools. Ojerinde, as the pioneer NECO Registrar, was able to weather different storms and turn NECO into a viable body. Therefore, when he and other board members at JAMB as well as the leadership of all tertiary institutions in Nigeria sense a danger and make plans to avert it, Nigerians should trust them. But that appears not to be the case in the present situation.

    According to the explanations offered by JAMB and the Registrar in separate press statements, the board consulted with the representatives of tertiary institutions to discuss the problems candidates face on admission and possible solutions. Without being told, Nigerians know the biggest problem candidates seeking admission face is that of limited spaces. In 2014, the JAMB Registrar stated that only 35 per cent of the 1,735,892 candidates that wrote the UTME in 2013 were admitted; pray what happened to the rest? Many are called, but few are chosen? If hundreds of thousands of candidates pass UTME annually and fail to secure admission because there are limited spaces in the institutions, whose responsibility is it to find a solution? JAMB; of course, which must be why the policy was adopted. And the Board has also disclaimed those selling cards for candidates to check the institutions they are redistributed to saying that the checking is free. Shouldn’t we look elsewhere for scape goats?

    The JAMB Registrar explained that the board considered candidates’ scores, choice courses and locations of universities of choice, among others, before re-allocating them to federal, state and private universities with enough spaces. But did the protesters really look deeply into the policy before taking to the streets? Do they prefer to waste time and money on post-UTME examinations when already departments have set cut-off marks that affected candidates did not meet or try their luck elsewhere where there are spaces? A lot of questions beg for answers but the protests and criticisms might end up being another case of opposing a beautiful idea at its infancy.

    • Alao writes through adealcommunications@gmail.com
  • Of JAMBGATE and Nigerian Law School

    Of JAMBGATE and Nigerian Law School

    “Surely, Allah does not change the situation of a community until that community is ready for a positive change” Q. 13:11 

     

    Preamble

    The Nigerian mass media throbbed, last week, with the shocking news of an unprecedented scandal allegedly perpetrated by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in relation to post JAMB examinations and admission into Nigerian Universities for 2015/2016 academic session. The strange game is tagged ‘JAMBGATE’ by this column (The Message).

     

    The Shocking News

    According to the shocking news, which spontaneously caused a national brouhaha, JAMB had surreptitiously shortchanged thousands of Nigerians by unilaterally changing the choices of applicants for admission into certain Universities without the knowledge of those applicants. For instance, names of applicants who made Universities of Nigeria, Lagos, Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello, Obafemi Awolowo, Benin, Calabar and others their choices of study were sent to certain private Universities or public Universities far away from the ones they chose without any recourse to them.

    It was a monumental fraud typical of the impunity with which the immediate past Nigerian Federal government was known. The cat was first let out of the bag at the University of Lagos where hundreds of parents and their wards resorted to protests even as some of them took JAMB to court. Anyway, enmeshing in such a scandalous act is not strange about JAMB.

     

    In Retrospect

    In the 2009 for instance, the University Matriculation Exam (UME) in Nigeria was subject to serious controversy when the poorest results ever released by that body almost caused a revolution. Much to JAMB’s embarrassment, the spokesmen for the Board later revealed that the machines which optically graded the papers had erroneous answers and the JAMB changed some students’ scores by as much as 15%. Ever since, there has hardly been a year without some examination skirmishes continually paving way to public loss of confidence in that Board. Surely, something fundamental is wrong with JAMB which requires sanitization.

     

    Reaction

    Reacting to the alleged scandal, the Federal Ministry of Education ordered an immediate reversal of that obnoxious act which was not known until the affected candidates had reached their post JAMB examination centres. Although the ministerial intervention was welcomed as a momentary relief for the affected candidates and their parents, analysts think that the highly embarrassing case must not end there. They contend that the scandal should be officially investigated by an independent body and the culprits be brought to book. To some observers, that scandal was part of the usual ‘under table’ bunko by which most Nigerian public office holders are known and which gave Nigeria the international appellation of a ‘corrupt nation’.

     

    Observers’ Thought

    The similitude of that scam, according to those observers, was like the case of the so-called fuel subsidy removal which Goodluck Jonathan government callously forced on the already wretched masses of Nigeria to further deepen their abyss of penury in 2012. The end result of that evil policy was a monumental official scam that is still haunting today Nigeria like a demonic spectre. It seems that the customers of the Jonathan’s era of scandalous impunity are yet to realize that a clement wind of CHANGE has begun to sweep our dirty country clean hence the current JAMBGATE.

    Were the government of impunity still in place, the JAMBGATE saga would have, as usual, been upheld to justify the usual ‘under the table’ deal that would have forced thousands of qualified University admission seekers to either go to private University or forget University education altogether. That is Nigeria for you a country in which sanity, until two months ago, was an aberration and impunity was the rule.

     

    Information

    The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was established in 1977 by the then Federal Military Government of Nigeria. It has since become Nigeria’s official Entrance Examination Board for candidates below the Advanced Level (A/L) education seeking admission into all Universities in the country. Before then, the existing federal universities in Nigeria (numbering seven by 1974) conducted their own ‘concessional’ entrance examinations and admitted their students according to their individual policies. With time, however, that system of admission was observed by the federal government as having limitations through a waste of time and resources in the process of administering the examination especially on the part of the candidates.

    The Committee of Vice-Chancellors therefore felt concerned about the general clumsiness in the coordination of admissions into the nation’s universities especially when the problem of admission into the universities became more acute with the establishment of additional six universities in 1976 by the Federal military government.

     

    Duties of JAMB

    In addition to its functions, JAMB is also supposed to undertake the following duties statutorily:

    Conducts the Universities Matriculation Examination (UME) and sends the results to Universities chosen by the candidates, so that each university selects and recommends candidates to JAMB for admission.

    Allows each university to conduct tests/interview termed screening for candidates (since . . .) before selecting those to recommend;

    Conduct similarly, entrance examination for candidate applying to Polytechnics and College of Education;

    Admits qualified candidates by Direct Entry to Universities that recommend them;

    Allows these institutions that operate Remedial Programmes to admit successful candidates, but announced in 2007 that it was counseling such from 2008. (For further information, please, see Perspectives on the History of Education in Nigeria, 2008).

     

    Key Departments of JAMB

    JAMB consists of eight key departments which statutorily carry out the day-to-day operations of the Board.  These are:

    1. Office of the Registrar which is headed by the Chief Executive who is appointed by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Education. The Registrar is responsible for the execution of policies of the Board and the day-to-day running of the affairs of the Board.

    By law, the Registrar shall hold office in the first instance for a period of five years and shall be eligible for reappointment for the same period as the president may be pleased from time to time. It is through this process that all applicants do register and get printed results online.

     

    Comment

    With JAMB becoming the gateway to tertiary education in Nigeria that examination body must live up to its responsibilities by upholding the national trust reposed in it and by utilizing that trust to propel the potential greatness of Nigeria as a foremost African country. It is pertinent for JAMB to understand that any failure on its part is Nigeria’s failure in all spheres of life since without qualitative education any nation can be pronounced dead. Thus, with such a strategic position, JAMB must know that it cannot afford to take the Nigerian populace for granted.

    Like JAMB like Nigerian Law School

    For good observers of education in Nigeria, JAMBGATE could not have come as a surprise. What JAMB did to cause uproar last week is what the Nigerian Law School has been doing in recent time. As a matter of fact, it was as if JAMB borrowed an idea of a ‘profitable’ venture from the Nigerian Law School. How many Nigerians know today that the Nigerian Law School that was once the right of every Law graduate in the country to be qualified for practice has become a privilege for just a few?

     

    Point of Departure

    Unlike in the past when the test of the prowess of the legal profession in Nigeria was accentuated by the Nigerian Law School, the real accentuation of Law practice in the country today, in grooming the practitioners of that profession, has become an instrument of power in the hands of a few who hold sway in that School. Through the use of that power the children of the poor have been tacitly declared personal non-grata in the Law profession. For instance, out of about 6000 students of Nigerian Law School in 2013/2014 session, only about 2000 were able to cross the huddle of the Bar exam. Although that cannot be strictly attributed to administrative policy the conditions laid down for enrolment in the Law School are strict enough to dissuade some students from concentration.

     

    Objective of Decentralisation

    The original objective of decentralizing the Nigerian Law School was to enable the Law Students from each geographical zone to attend the Law School in his or her zone with convenience. But this was changed by the authorities of that School who are now allocating Law School campuses arbitrarily to those students irrespective of their zones of origin and depriving them the right of changing their allocations if they are not satisfied. For instance, students from the Southwest of Nigeria who wanted to attend the Lagos Law School were arbitrarily posted Yola, in Adamawa despite the Boko Haram threat to lives. And those from the North-West who chose Kano were posted to Enugu campus without an option. The cost of this alone especially for indigent students is distractive enough. Yet, these students will still be forcefully posted to anywhere for in the country for National Youth Service after their call to the Bar. What kind of country is this?

     

    Unaffordable Charges

    The exorbitant, unaffordable levies charged for reseat in the Bar exam have prevented thousands of potential Lawyers from becoming legal practitioners. The imposed cost of feeding per meal alone is enough to scare away any prospective Law student from enrolling in that School. Eventually, thousands of University graduates in Law who are unable to realize their dream by passing through the Law School have become like marauders roaming the streets of Nigeria like Egyptian gypsies of yore, after five years of rigour in the University. What kind of country is this? And in this case, what is the difference between JAMB and the Nigerian Law School?

     

    Autocratic Song

    The song of these days, as far as the Nigerian Law School is concerned is that ‘the Law Profession is not for the Poor’. And to emphasize that oppressive song, the tuition and other fees in that school have been taken beyond the affordability level of an ordinary Nigerian. Besides, all sorts of oppressive polices are being regularly formulated to reduce the number of Nigerian Lawyers drastically and to discourage new entrants into the profession. Thus, the Law profession in Nigeria is gradually becoming an exclusive right of the senior practitioners in the profession whose children are seen and treated as their heirs apparent. For how long will this be allowed in a country that claims to maintain human rights and freedom of exercising such rights? God save Nigeria.

  • JAMB: Lessons from policy reversal

    SIR: The reversal of the unpopular policy of reassigning candidates by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) by the Federal Government is commendable. The message in the failed policy is that those at the helms of affairs should consult widely before arriving at their decision (s) and consider the unintended consequences of their action(s) on the life chances of those at the receiving end. At all times, the rights of all citizens must be respected while parties to an agreement must stick to the agreement without changing the rule in the middle of the game. What can we learn from this? We need to understand why some universities remain short of candidates (needy) in a country where there are more candidates than available spaces.

    Yearly, about 1.6 million Nigerian youths purchase application forms sold by JAMB to compete for a little below 500,000 admission spaces! These candidates pay about N5,000 to obtain forms. Yet, JAMB did not see a moral burden in collecting their monies, setting examinations and grading them using the same standard. The public universities are over-subscribed more than their carrying capacities while private universities remained short of candidates. In the 2015 UTME application statistics, the top 10 by first choice are University of Ilorin (105,032); University of Benin (71,273); Nnamdi Azikiwe University (70,430); University of Nigeria Nsukka (66,577); University of Lagos (62,125); Ahmadu Bello University (56,858); University of Ibadan (46,812); Bayero University Kano (45, 464); Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife (43,037); and University of Uyo (40,005).

    In the same 2015 UTME applications, only 15,000 of the 1,436,837 million candidates sought admission into 48 private universities. Of these, Covenant, Babcock and Afe Babalola universities had 3, 144; 1,985 and 1, 247 applicants respectively. Others had below 600 applicants with some like Southwestern University, Well Spring University and Kwararafa University having less than 10 candidates each! Those who chose polytechnic as first option in the top 10 institutions are a little above 10,000 candidates. The top 10 institutions in Colleges of Education had 13, 944 candidates who made them their first option.

    The 2015 UTME performance statistics showed that 455,639 candidates scored 200 and above; 663,570 scored 190 and above; 931,559 scored 180 and above; 1, 205,992 scored 170 and above while 1,353, 509 scored 160 and above. Only 122,091 scored below 160. In the form purchased by candidates, those who could not meet the cut-off for the university of first choice can still use same score for their preferred polytechnics or colleges of education. JAMB has set the minimum cut-off for Universities at 180 while polytechnics, Colleges of Education and others had theirs pegged at 150. It means that candidates can still make it to other tertiary institutions and not only Universities even if they fall below cut-off points.

    Obviously the quest for university education is topmost from the statistics. University education in Nigeria determines where you get to in formal employment (for employment, promotion, discrimination). We need to increase the space for competition in our public universities since affordability will continue to chase Nigerian youths from private universities who charge exorbitant fees. Everything boils down to infrastructure needs. If private universities spend less on power generation and other materials, tuition will go down. Those establishing universities must do feasibility studies and needs assessment of their community. For instance, University of South Africa (UNISA), one of the 23 public universities in that country, provides opportunities to more than 400, 000 students across South Africa, Africa, and other parts of the world. It is ranked high in Online Distance Learning (ODL) Education. The present configuration of Distance Learning Education in Nigerian Universities will at best deliver on the unintended objective of proliferating mediocrity. Hence, Nigeria must develop infrastructure in Distance Learning to provide the much needed educational space in public universities. The Buhari led-administration must revisit the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) NEEDS Assessment report. The report showed that public universities have a shortfall of 60,000 lecturers and dilapidated infrastructure. Unfortunately, only N200 billion of the N1.3 trillion agreed by Federal Government since 2013 had been released. While all these are important to increase access, parents must learn to make their wards explore other available opportunities in Polytechnics and Colleges of Education. After all, I attended the Polytechnic, Ibadan before gaining admission into University of Ibadan. Today, I hold a Ph.D of the University but I am better equipped as a trained Mass Communication student because of the practical exposure at the polytechnic.

    • Dr Oludayo Tade,

    Ibadan.

  • JAMB succumbs to pressure

    JAMB succumbs to pressure

    •ASUU accuses board of compromise

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), finally yielded to pressure by parents and candidates who are kicked against the Board’s directive to some candidates to write the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)  other than the universities of their first choices.

    The development followed wild jubilations in the streets of Akoka, Lagos by the Association of Tutorial School Operators who trooped to the streets.

    The new JAMB directive placed on some universities, including UNILAG, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin and Imo State University, from conducting the post-UTME for any other candidates other than those recommended to them by the Board, has been provoking public outcry.

    JAMB PRO Mr. Fabian Benjamin, told The Nation that the Board decided to respect the the wishes by Nigerians as well as individual candidates, and would accord them the opportunity to fight for available slots.

    Benjamin said the redistribution of the candidates to other deprived universities would not stop, noting that affected candidates could as well write the post-UTME tests in their universities of first choice and still proceed to where they were redistributed to take part in their screening.

    He said: “JAMB as a responsible and responsive body wouldn’t have closed its ears against the cries of its candidates. But the redistribution still holds and the advantage is just that these candidates who have been redistributed have chances of writing post-UTME in two places.”

    Benjamin added that JAMB is only interested in ensuring that the candidates were offered admission, rather than wasting their high scores concentrating their efforts on an institution which might not work out eventually.

    Similarly, the National President of the Association of Tutorial School Operators, Mr. Oludotun Sodunke, who led the students to challenge the new policy in court, said the victory belonged to Nigerians and the responsiveness of a new government and the support by the media.

    Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has asked JAMB Registrar,  Prof Dibu Ojerinde to stop promoting a policy to favour private universities and exploit the poor.

    Chairman of ASUU University of Ibadan Chapter, Prof Segun Ajiboye, said JAMB’s relevance in Nigeria ends when universities started conducting their own post-UTME examinations.

    He stated the Senate of universities determines the type of students to admit within set of approved criteria open to all candidates.

    Ajiboye spoke on a television programme monitored in Ibadan on the recent policy of reallocation of candidates by JAMB.

    Ajiboye alleged that the JAMB boss  has been compromised by investors in private universities whom two percent of the applicants picked as preferred choice of institution.

    He said: “JAMB’s concept of ‘needy’ institutions needs deconstruction here. Needy universities are basically private universities in Nigeria who charge exorbitant fees with less than required manpower.

    In the 2015 UTME applications, 15,000 of the close to 1,436,837 million candidates sought admission into 48 private universities. Of these, Covenant, Babcock and Afe Babalola universities had 3, 144; 1,985 and 1, 247 applicants respectively.

    Others had below 600 applicants with some like Southwestern University, Well spring University and Kwararafa University having less than 10 candidates! If not doing the bidding of private universities, JAMB ought to be open with its policy from the point of sale of the forms. JAMB must tell us how many public universities are under-subscribed.”

  • Buhari willing to end Bsc, HND dichotomy – JAMB

    Buhari willing to end Bsc, HND dichotomy – JAMB

    The Registrar/Chief Executive of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, (JAMB), Prof. Dibu Ojerinde Wednesday said President Muhammadu Buhari is willing to implement the waver that will end the Bsc and HND dichotomy.

    Buhari received the updated report on the Bsc and HND saga which was presented by the Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Education, MacJohn Nwaobiala last Tuesday.

    Ojerinde who was part of the delegation said Buhari is willing to end the dichotomy.

    He disclosed this in Abuja when he spoke with few selected newsmen on how to solve the lingering crisis of admission into universities.

    The JAMB boss revealed that: “The last administration set up a committee to look at how we can now merge the two, the report was ready but it was not handled by the last administration.”

    His words: “The system has not given adequate vision for the other levels of education. We have not encouraged technical education, we have not encouraged Teachers education also, in fact we have not encouraged Agricultural education to the extent that everybody feels that the only way to survive is to go to the University.

    “The only way to make it is to have a degree, so I am saying we should revisit our system, we should look at why candidates don’t want to go to polytechnics, and we should look at why they don’t want teachers’ education we should also revisit why they don’t want agriculture.

    “By our experience, most people will like to study law, engineering, medicine, accountancy, these are the top courses been sought for in the universities nobody wants to study education. So I see we have problem in that area and I am sure the Federal Ministry of Education is trying to solve that problem.

    “First of all Technical Education, there’s dichotomy between Bachelors degree and National Diploma or Higher National Diploma, (HND). It was one of the things presented to Mr. President to find a way of implementing the waver of the dichotomy between HND and the Bsc degree. The so called HND should now be changed to Btech which means Bachelor of Technology.

    “Former President Musa Yar’Adua may his soul rest in peace, said he doesn’t have any problem with Btech. Unfortunately, government also has not sorted this entire problem.  And there are such cases of people like me in this country, I wouldn’t have been able to read, I wouldn’t have been able to go to school. So what I am saying is, government should look at how we can improve technical education.

    “Let me refer to what Oby Ezekwensili the former Minister of Education said, she was determined to implement Btech in our Technical System, college of Education. All this places should be well equipped for Btech.

    “Four colleges of Education have been upgraded to universities of Education, you will see the rush into those universities now because they can now get bachelor’s degree. And when they come to the public they will not be a push away. So this is where we are, I think if I go by what we saw on Wednesday, President Buhari and the Vice President listened and they were interested in what we presented.”