Some Vice-Chancellors and the Academic Staff Union of Universities
have rejected the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation
Board to peg admission cut-off mark at 120 for universities and 100 for
polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.
ASUU said the action, which it described as a “sad policy decision,” was in tandem “with the dream of the present government to destroy public universities in the country.”
Most of the vice-chancellors Punch correspondents interviewed on
the issue maintained that they would not lower admission standards in
their respective varsities.
The vice-chancellors stated that the decision would add no value to the nation’s university system.
For instance, in a statement issued by the Vice-Chancellor,
University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, on the issue and released by
his Media Assistant, Mr. Sunday Saanu, on Thursday, the premier
university stated that it would never admit any candidate that scored
120 in the UTME.
The statement added, “It should worry us as patriots that
candidates who scored just 30 per cent in the UTME can be admitted into
some of our universities. Yet, we complain of poor quality of our
graduates. You can hardly build something on nothing. The consolation
here is that since JAMB started conducting this qualifying exam in 1978,
UI has never admitted any candidate who scored less than 200 marks out
of the maximum 400 marks.
“This translates to a minimum of 50 per cent. This remains our
position as an institution aspiring to be world-class. Reality is that
only about four other universities in the country have such high
standard. To that extent, apart from being the oldest, we are an elite
university in the country at least judging by the quality of our
intakes.’’
Olayinka, however, commended the decision of the Federal Government
to re-introduce the post-UTME test and exonerated the incumbent JAMB
Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, from the cancellation of the test two
sessions ago.
“It is gratifying to note that the Honourable Minister of
Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who chaired the meeting, apologised
publicly for canceling the post-UTME screening last year.
“In effect, universities are now allowed to conduct the test using modalities approved by the Senate of each institution.
“To be fair to the incumbent Registrar of JAMB, he was not the
Registrar when the policy somersault of cancelling the post-UTME test
was made last year. As strongly canvassed by us at every opportunity,
for UI, the need to admit the best admission seekers is the primary
motivation for the test and not money, even though we do not pretend
that you can run any university so properly called without funds.”
Speaking to one of our correspondents on Thursday, the
Vice-Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Prof.
Oluyemisi Obilade, said that the onus would ultimately fall on parents
and employers of labour to decide “between a first-class graduate of a
university which takes 120 as its cut-off mark or one that takes 180 as
its cut-off mark.’’
Obilade, who said that TASUED would never go below 180, insisted
that many of the VCs at the Combined Policy Meeting during which the 120
benchmark decision was made, said they would not go below 180.
She said, “But some universities chose 120 at the meeting. What
the JAMB has done is to transfer power back to the Senate of
universities to decide their cut-off marks. What I can tell you is that
many public universities and even private universities will not go
below 200. We were told that some universities were doing what they
called ‘under the table admission’ and then come back to JAMB after four
years for regularisation.
“TASUED will not go below 180, not under my watch. Even in the
United States, there is what we call Ivy League universities, and there
are those you can call ‘Next Level Universities.’ There are also those
that are termed community colleges. At the meeting, the outcome is that
universities have been given the freedom to decide. It is not general
legislation and it is not binding on everybody.’’
Speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the Chairman of ASUU at the
University of Ibadan, Dr. Deji Omole, said it was the dream of the
present government to destroy education in the country.
He said, “Rather than sanctioning the identified universities
that admitted over 17,000 students illegally, the JAMB registrar simply
regularised illegality and lowered cut-off marks to favour the interests
of the friends of government who own private universities and are hell
bent on destroying public education.”
Omole said it was vital for JAMB to be scrapped in order to save
the nation’s education and its future. He said the board had outlived
its usefulness and that prospective students should apply directly to
universities of their choice for admission.
He said, “Where are the students that the JAMB registrar said
entered universities illegally? Which universities admitted them? If 30
per cent did not take JAMB and found their way into the university
system, is that not corruption and a message that JAMB is not
significant anymore? What sanction did those who did the illegal thing
receive other than regularisation of illegality.
“We are watching because long before now we have said that JAMB
has outlived its usefulness. Let the universities set their unique
standards and those who are qualified can come in. Scoring 120 out of
400 marks is 30 per cent. Even in those days, 40 per cent was graded as
pass. But now JAMB said with F9 which is scoring 30 per cent you can be
admitted.
“They deliberately want to destroy education. Even for
polytechnic, 100 marks is 25 per cent. It is sad. And that is where we
are in Nigeria. They want to destroy public education at all costs. This
is not setting standard for education in Nigeria. It is purely lowering
standards and digging grave for the future. This is why ASUU is
currently on the struggle to influence the government to do the needful
for education in Nigeria.”
Also, the Dean of Students Affairs, Federal University of
Technology, Akure, Prof. Kayode Alese, who spoke on behalf of FUTA
management, said that the institution would soon unveil its cut-off
mark.
“However, I can assure you that FUTA has never gone as low as 120. It has never happened and it will never happen,” he said.
Alese added, “Having spoken for the university, my personal
opinion is that the 120 cut-off mark will not add value to our education
system. The Federal Government has just increased the pass mark from
40 to 45 in universities. What that means is that you must score at
least 45 for you to pass any course. We have enough candidates and yes
you may try to increase access but tertiary education should be for
those who have the capability.’’
Also, the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Tope
Ogunmodede, said the institution would not admit any candidate with 120
UTME score.
He said, “Traditionally, OAU has never admitted students who
scored below 200 in the UTME. For us, we are sticking to 200. The
minimum benchmark is 120 but you can go higher than that. I expect that
an institution should be able to determine the quality of its graduates
because there are internal exams. What has been done is to provide a
leeway for universities to decide their cut-off marks.”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has
described the reduction of the cut-off marks for admission into tertiary
institutions as “a gross misplacement of priority and an exercise in futility.”
The organisation said that the reduction by JAMB, from 180 for
universities and 165 polytechnics, to 120 and 100 respectively for the
2017 UTME, would translate to a disastrous outcome in the future.
The President of NANS, Chinonso Obasi, in a statement on Thursday,
threatened that the decision would be resisted if JAMB refused to adhere
to the status quo.
He said, “As critical stakeholders in the educational sector,
NANS will vehemently resist the review and call on government to
maintain the status quo and endeavour to conduct a comparative study and
analysis of policies from other climes that support functional learning
and production of young people that can compete with their peers
globally.
“Even with the current status, the general phenomenon is that
Nigerian graduates are not employable. The lowering of standards will
translate to a disastrous outcome in the future by churning out young
people who cannot fit into the demands and expectations of the 21st
century.’’
According to him, since the 21st century is being driven by
innovation and competitiveness, lowering the entry level into tertiary
institutions would only further contribute to reducing the productivity
and peak performance of young people seeking admission into the
country’s higher institutions of learning.
However, the Vice-Chancellor of the Christopher University, Ogun
State, Prof. Friday Ndubuisi, said the new admission benchmark would
have no negative implication on the quality of education.
He said, “This is not an imposition. The cut-off mark is a
minimum benchmark for admission. This idea of taking the UTME every year
without getting admission is worrying. About 1.6 million candidates sat
for the examination this year and about 500,000 will be admitted mostly
because of the cut-off mark. Most universities will not go below 200,
but with five credits obtained in two sittings, a person should be
qualified for admission. This is, however, not an imposition.
Universities still get to decide on whom to admit through the
post-UTME.’’