Tertiary institutions are no longer to conduct examinations for admission seekers. They are only to screen based on merit, catchment, and educationally-less developed (ELD) areas. These were the criteria used before the introduction of the post-UTME in 2004.
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, last month announced the scrapping of the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Some cheered the gesture; others jeered it. He promised to provide a guideline for tertiary institutions to follow in admitting students for the 2016/2017 academic session.
When the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) published a point-based system for admission on its website last week, it became a subject of debate.
The point-based system stipulated the following: Candidates could only be screened by institutions if they had a provisional admission letter from JAMB; the letter would be issued by JAMB based on points assigned to the ordinary level and UTME results of candidates; for ordinary level, one sitting attracts 10 points; two sittings, two points; the better the ordinary level results, the more the points (e.g. ; A=6 marks, B=4 marks, C=3 marks). For UTME scores, candidates can get between 20 and 60 points (180-200=20-23 points; 200-250=24-33 points, 251-300=34-43 points, 300-400=44-60 points).
While some stakeholders applauded the point-based system for being scientific, others argued that it would worsen the incidence of examination malpractices as candidates would do all they can to obtain good grades that would attract more points. However, before the public could adjust to the new system, JAMB Public Relations Officer, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said the only guideline that would be employed in pre-admission screening is the one stipulated by law, which is admission on the basis of merit, catchment area, and education less-developed areas.
But not everyone agrees that the new method, which is in fact a return to what obtained before the introduction of the post-UTME in 2004, is the best to use to admit students into tertiary institutions.
Prof Oyewusi Ibidapo-Obe, who was one of those that championed the introduction of the post-UTME as vice chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), said neither the point-based system nor the screening of candidates based on only the UTME could solve the problem of admission fraud.
He told The Nation in an interview that before the post-UTME, many poor quality candidates who obtained their scores dubiously easily found their way into schools at the expense of genuine candidates.
“This point system we have done it before and we have tried it and it is actually not giving us the result we want. You know for us to know who really took the exam is what we are trying to do. We have a regime before that the highest scorers get admission but we have found out that these highest scorers don’t perform to meet that standard so we said we were going to be doing screening. Now if there is something wrong with the methodology of screening as I have always said let us change it; let us try to solicit for a system that does not look at physics, chemistry, biology, Yoruba as exams at post JAMB but to look at aptitude test and screening. That new system is not going to cure the original problem, the original problem is people who come in with high scores but do not perform so we need to know exactly who is who,” said Ibidapo-Obe who also served as the vice chancellor, Federal University Ndifu-Alike in Ebonyi State.
Dr Adelaja Odukoya, ASUU Chairman, UNILAG, wondered why institutions are being forced to rely solely on UTME scores particularly when there were a lot of problems with this year’s examination.
“The universities are not subservient to JAMB and actually there were problems with the very last JAMB examination. That is why this whole thing to me looks very ridiculous. The worst exam ever conducted by JAMB was the very last one. Their computer systems failed and they start awarding 40 marks to students. I know of students that had two results for the same exam. It is in this present time that you see students and parents protesting the outcomes of the exams and yet that is what is being celebrated,” Odukoya said.
Prof Tolu Odugbemi, also a former vice chancellor of UNILAG, questioned the change of policy without research.
He said: “It appears that our educational policies are dictated and influenced by sentiments and emotions. It has become necessary and urgent that all hands must be on deck to ensure that government policies are based on facts and research data. Is there data or published research studies available either for or against dumping “Post-UTME” in our universities to back such important policies? It is important that institutions learn to have good record keeping for research studies that are relevant and applicable in making decisions. Our universities must have the right to admit suitable students based on relevant and objective criteria for selecting students to read in our higher institutions.
Mr Toyin Adebule, Deputy Registrar (Information), UNILAG, said that he contributed to research that showed that admission based on the UTME alone did not produce the caliber of students ready for rigorous academic exercise.
He said: “Speaking from my personal perspective, I conducted a research recently for my Masters programme and it was titled: “Administrative policies in Nigerian Federal universities from 2000-2010: A case study of UNILAG”. The result was alarming. We rose from graduating four First Class students in UNILAG, before the advent of post UTME to graduating up to 140 First Class by 2010. In fact, this year, UNILAG graduated 170 First Class students. Although other variables matter in helping students do well academically, ranging from teachers’ salaries, advent of the students union, among others. But this result gives credence to the fact that something somewhere is being done right since the advent of post UTME.”
Mr Folorunsho Ogunmefun, who runs Greymatter Resource Centre, a tutorial school that helps prepare candidates for entrance examinations, said he observed that the post-UTME did improve the quality of students that got into school.
“I remember when I was about gaining admission into the university I used to see more of club boys and girls from the bourgeois home, who are very rich at the University of Lagos. But with the advent of the post UTME, I saw a change in the quality of students being absorbed into UNILAG. Children from the proletariat homes were coming in, because it was no longer based on UTME score but their performance in post UTME. And UNILAG gained its momentum in terms of producing good students upon graduation so in my own view, if government can reverse the decision to scrap post UTME, it is another way of check-mating the injustice being done in the academic environment,” said Ogunmefun.
The point-based system however has its advocates, who believe it is better than the post-UTME as it used to be conducted. One of them is Prof Peter Okebukola, former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), who said he likes it because it is measurable. Though it was during his tenure that the post-UTME was introduced, Okebukola said it deviated from the original idea to screen candidates for aptitude, written and oral skills. He recommended that institutions adopt that original template of post-UTME to admit the right quality of students.
“We decided that when we were going to have a second level post UTME screening, it would be some kind of essay to test their written English; then interview to check their oral English; then no university should charge more than N1,000. So we started this in 2004 and I was bold enough to tell President Obasanjo that in 2009 we will start getting good graduates from our universities.
“But new vice chancellors came and changed the thing. They started doing the CBT again but that was not the agreement. So when that news came that they should stop it, I was happy but it should be a temporary suspension where we get it right again.
“Until we are able to do the other three things, assess how they speak English, their written logical expression on paper and assess their person, we will just be deceiving ourselves,” he said.
Apart from being upset about the post-UTME ban, some academics are not happy that the pre-admission screening is to cost money after the minister warned institutions not to charge fees.
Last week, the Association of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) announced that pre-admission screening fees would now cost between N1,500 and N2,500 – which was contrary to the initial announcement by the minister that institutions should not charge for the screening.
Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Abuja chapter, Dr. Ben Ugheoke blamed the Mallam Adamu, for “policy somersault” in the education sector.
“This same people said there should be no fee; these same people have come out again now to say you can charge, this is what you should charge. I am sure that tomorrow they will wake up and say don’t charge at all or go ahead and charge whatever you want to charge provided you permit us to carry out the admissions we want.
“This wake up and make pronouncement approach, I think it tells so much about the people handling the affairs of education in this country. I feel the handlers of education presently are not very informed about education,” he said.
On his part, Deputy Director, Distant Learning Centre, University of Ibadan, Prof Oyesoji Aremu, lamented that within a space of one month, JAMB had “foisted two admission policies on the country.”
“JAMB and the Ministry of Education seem not to understand what exactly they want for education in respect of candidates seeking admission. A few weeks ago, JAMB, through the Minister of Education, ‘decreed’ that money must not be charged by universities for pre-admission exercise, while the latest development stated that universities would charge fee for screening at the end of the process of admission. What do we call that? Confusion.”
Lecturers may complain about the implication for university autonomy, but this is of little concern to Mr. Abok Michael, Education secretary Jos North LGA who said many parents do not like the post-UTME and are relieved it is gone.
“As a parent with two children in the university, two at the polytechnic I was becoming fed up with the post UTME problems. Thank God that has been cancelled. The new method is like reverting to the original method through which some of went into the universities in the 70s and 80s. I am happy that our education system has reverted to the original method. Candidate will now concentrate on their WAEC or GCE,” he said.
Muhammed Yaris, a candidate making his second attempt at the UTME this year, is also happy there would be no post-UTME again.
“I am happy that they cancelled post UTME. The post UTME process is no longer trustworthy and it is too rigorous. From my experience last year, we were all made to wait from 6am to 7pm just to write our exam because they had a minor fault with their computers. We stood in the sun and we were not allowed to go out to meet our parents or even call them to let them know what was going on. And after all the stress, I did not get up to the cut off mark. I prefer this new method. I think more people will have better chances of getting into tertiary institutions,” he said.
Ahmed Ojerinde however wished that the point-based system would stay. He was sure it would work for him.
“I prefer this point-based system, because now, I don’t have to write another exam after all the ones I have written. I have even calculated my points based on my UTME and WAEC results and I think I have a good chance of gaining admission,” he said.
