Tag: UTME results

Like many parents, the National Assembly believes that the validity of Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results should be for more than one year. Reason: this will enable applicants try again in subsequent years without sitting for the examination. The lawmakers are pushing for three-year validity of UTME results.

Last Tuesday, the senate adopted a motion by Senator Joshua Lidani, asking the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to extend the validity of its results from one to three years to reduce the number of yearly applicants. Since it has no force of law, the resolution may not be binding on JAMB, which has not commented on the matter. Two years ago, a bill for a three-year extension of UTME results, scaled second reading at the House of Representatives.

The bill’s sponsor, Ibrahim Ebbo from Niger State argued that many candidates who re-took the examinations when they were not admitted the first time are indigent.  “They are  forced to raise funds to register yearly,” he said.

JAMB Registrar, Prof Dibu Ojerinde has also spoken on the possibility of extending the validity of UTME results to more than one year – if the way of testing is changed.

During preparations for the 2015 UTME, Ojerinde said, at a seminar that if the UTME could be changed to an aptitude test, as against the current achievement test, then the results could be valid for years.  He said once the board had enough e-centres, the examinations would be decentralised and could be taken all-year long.

If the move succeeds, Nigeria won’t be the first to embrace it.  The Standardised College Admission Test (SAT) used with a combination of other criteria for admission into schools in the United States has a lifespan of at least five years.

There is however, no consensus on the matter. Some students and parents are happy that it would reduce the cost and stress of writing the examination yearly. Others are skeptical about its workability.

Founder of the Chemical Engineering Department, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Ayo Ogunye, backs the extension plan.

“Left to me, as a father, I would love the UTME result to be extended for about three years, not that every year, you have to rewrite if you do not gain the admission of your choice. If the exam is of very good standard, then why repeat it over and over again? If you record someone with 70 per cent this year, then let us keep it,” said the retired professor, who runs the PAFOTFUL Foundation for university students.

As a Diploma student of the Mass Communication Department at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Halima Ileyemi, understands what it means to write UTME more than once.  She supports the extension bid.

“I think it would be a good idea for UTME results to be extended by three years, because it is too strenuous to be writing it every year, especially when you passed the first time and all you need is a few papers in your WASSCE. One would just do WASSCE again and move on,” she said.

Mrs Joy Okoye, Vice Principal Special Duties, Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos, says it would ease the financial burden on parents.

“It is a very good development. It means once you meet the cut off mark, all that is needed is to fight for the post-UTME. I will encourage it to be passed into law because I am in total support of it. I don’t think it would affect any educational standard. It will help the parents financially as they do not have to buy JAMB form yearly. It will also boost the morale of the students,” she said.

A parent, St Mykel Ogbonaya, said it would curb examination malpractices.

“If you know what parents, students and guardians go through during examination. I am an advocate of meritorious work. It will reduce cheating drastically and it would improve hard work,” he said

Some stakeholders are not enthusiatic about the idea.

Unlike the United States, which according to the Association of American Colleges and Universities has 2, 618, accredited four-year colleges and universities, Nigeria has 141 public and private universities; 475 monotechnics/polytechnics, colleges of technology, and vocational/innovation enterprise institutions; and 83 colleges of education.

Mr Olubunmi Olowe, Group Administrator, Isolog Schools, told The Nation that he fears the proposed policy might worsen the backlog issue.  He recommended that more universities be established to accommodate more candidates instead.

“It is neither here nor there; it is good because it gives advantage to those who are not able to gain admission immediately.  But the problem is that students graduate from secondary school every year and they write the examination.  The policy could lead to the number of candidates accumulating to a point that it becomes problematic.  The solution is to provide enough universities so that those leaving secondary school every year may get in,” he said.

Emeritus professor of Physiology, Faculty of Bone Sciences, UNILAG College of Medicine, Soga Sofola, advocates a two-year extension. Like Olowe, he is also worried about backlog.

He said: “I don’t see too many problems with the UTME results being carried over but I would suggest for only one year. That is you write the exam this year and if you do not get your desired admission, you can use the result again next year but not beyond that. Because I foresee traffic jam if the results are carried over for three years. By the time it accumulates and the new people who are writing UTME for the first time are meant to write with people from three years ago and beyond, the crowd would be so much and some may not even get the chance to write their exams. So it is better they are given only one year carryover of UTME result.”

For Oluwatobi Oyewole, a 400-Level student of Engineering, an extension would support academic mediocrity.

“It is not a good idea because it is not the best for the students. UTME is a way of testing the intelligence of students, which is why doing it every year is better. The fact that you passed the exam once does not mean you are intelligent,” he said.

Adeola Makun, an SS1 pupil of Queen’s College, thinks an extension would kill motivation to work hard.

“Well I will prefer yearly so that there is more room for improvement among the students. It is not really a good idea as the students will be too relaxed to continue studying,” she said.

Prof Tolu Odugbemi, former Vice Chancellor, Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), said the government should not compel universities to accept extended results.

“To be honest, the Senate of any university has full control of programmes and would determine what is required.  It is unacceptable for the government to impose what the university should accept,” he said.

Acting Dean, Faculty of Education, Sokoto State University, Dr Ahmad Rufai, concurs, saying:  “The truth is that some of these issues bordering on education that are debated in the National Assembly are mere politicking; they are not borne out of genuine intention.”

Instead, he urged the National Assembly to strengthen regulatory bodies and grant them autonomy to fulfil their mandates.

The Association of Tutorial School Operators (ATSO) is not in support of the National Assembly’s plan.

Its National President, Oludotun Shodunke, said: “If this initiative sails through, it will have worked against the very students they are trying to protect.”

“As much as we appreciate the senators’ concern, entrance examinations in most places are valid for a year.

“Let’s assume a candidate sits for UTME and makes 280 this year, he then sits again the following year and made 180, such candidate will have no choice than use the result of the previous year to seek admission. And don’t also forget that JAMB is based on cut-off mark, if (JAMB) performance is high in a particular year, then the cut-off will be high, and if its low cut-off will be low.

“It might also interest you that some candidates have high score in UTME but fail post-UTME woefully; so such candidate would want to retain his UTME score until when he sits for another post-UTME and get higher marks.”

Will the proposal come to be? Only time will tell.