By
Adekitan Adenike
Regarding the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board which is a Nigerian entrance examination board for tertiary-level institutions. This board conducts entrance Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for prospective undergraduates into Nigerian universities.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) released the 2021/2022 students results which turned out to be abysmal. According to the board, 6,944,368 applicants sat for the examination but only 973,384 passed with scores to get into Nigerian universities.
This shows that only 14% passed while 86%, representing 5,970,984 students failed woefully.
Though Some candidates who sat for the UTME had blamed their inability to make good grades on being given the wrong syllabus, also they were given old syllabus of 2015-2020 for Literature – in English text as against the one of 2020 – 2025.
The candidates said the mix-up in the syllabus was responsible for their failure in the examination. But JAMB in the statement argued that all UTME questions are based on texts prescribed for the UTME in its syllabus.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has denied that the use of ‘wrong syllabus’ for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination was responsible for the poor results so far released by the board.
Different reactions have continued to follow the recently released results of the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculations Examination ( UTME). While some candidates expressed satisfaction with their scores, others expressed disappointment on the results.
JAMB SHOULD BE RESTRUCTURED OR SCRAPPED OFF
Considering the increasing failure rate and the decline in the percentages of candidates securing admission in our tertiary institutions in the recent time, coupled with the fact that candidates are now subjected to entrance examinations, which isn’t free of charge, by the tertiary institutions, the conduct, validity and eligibility of JAMB/UTME need to be restructured in line with international best practice and the interest of the poor masses of this country.
If the prevailing poverty rate in the country and the decline in morale that candidates suffer for having to wait a whole year before having another chance of writing another in the next coming isn’t good enough .. The federal government are just using jamb to general revenue by needlessly exploiting the poor masses, thereby making tertiary education more expensive and almost impossible for the down trodden, JAMB should focus on how best to make tertiary education more accessible and easier for Nigerians.
JAMB/UTME shouldn’t be a qualification examination for tertiary institutions. An entrance test should be conducted only after student has chosen any desired school of their choice and it’s left for the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education to conducts entrance examinations (post JAMB/UTME) which will actually qualifies and determines candidates’ eligibility for admission. There are billions of youths whose lives have been put on hold because they are yet to pass the UTME. Universities should be the one to test candidates’ Knowledge.
Nigeria has the highest figure of students seeking admission into tertiary institutions. The number of candidates seeking admission into universities is more than the institutions can absorb. Supply is grossly more than demand. Education is not made a top priority in this country.
However, against the backdrop of these problems, private universities such as Crescent University Abeokuta are the saving grace. It has been able to absorb more students who might not have gained access to tertiary education in public institutions.
In this regard, private universities are a blessing, especially faith-based universities; and they are doing much more to inculcate in their products spiritual and moral values that other government-owned institutions may not care about. They have tried to curb a number of vices like cultism, indiscipline and lots more.
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