UPDATE !!! Senate Moves To Scrap Post - UTME

THE Senate had begun moves to scrap the post Unified Matriculation

Examination, UME as it yesterday mandated its committee on Tertiary

Education to meet with relevant stakeholders, especially the Joint

Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and come up with

recommendations on how to achieve the set goal.

According to the Senate, the move has become imperative because the

introduction of the post – UME examination has to a large extent

failed to remedy the problems associated with the JAMB, adding that

its continued existence has posed more challenges for the Nigeria

educational system.

The Senate has also called for the development of a strategy that

would ensure the efficiency and integrity in the conduct of JAMB

examination.

The resolutions of the Senate Tuesday followed a motion by Senator

Umaru l. Kurfi, APC, Katsina Central and entitled, "The Need to

revisit the regulatory conflict between Joint Admission and

Matriculation Board (JAMB) Universities in offering admission in

Nigeria."

In his presentation of the motion, Senator Umaru l. Kurfi said that

"The Senate: Notes that the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB)

was established in 1976 and saddled with the responsibility of

streamlining and co- ordinating admission practice as well as

determining who is admitted into universities and other tertiary

educational institutions in Nigeria;

"Further notes that that the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) is

the Federal umbrella organization which oversees the administration of

University education in Nigaria, and prior to 2005 , the truly

criteria needed for candidates seeking admission into tertiary

institutions was for such candidate to have minimum admission

requirement and possess a certain score at his or her JAMB

examination.

"Aware that the laudable objectives of JAMB began to suffer

progressive denudation shortly after its inception as some

universities admitted students outside the list sent by JAMB and

rejecting candidates with admission letters from JAMB on the ground

that they had to comply with their own internal quota and catchment

calculation, coupled with the issue of malpractices that plagued JAMB

examinations.

"Further aware as scores of successful JAMB candidates turned out ill

equipped for university education, the Federal Government, in 2005,

under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo , introduced the

policy of Post-UME screening by Universities which made it compulsory

for tertiary institutions to screen candidates after JAMB results and

before offering admission;

"Worried that while this new development was aimed at addressing the

problem of student quality, it reintroduced and entrenched many of the

problems it sought to eliminate through JAMB;

"Cognizance that while the executives introduced the Post-UME policy

as a remedy to the decay in educational standard in higher

institutions of learning, there have been public outcry of extortion

from candidates despite the rigorous test they pass through at JAMB;

"Disturbed that as the integrity of the post -UME examination is open

to question as the pecuniary motive of the respective institutions

comes so visibly to the fore that there is little pretence about

maximizing the income flows through these internal examinations;

"Regrets that the introduction of the post – UME examination has to a

large extent failed to remedy the problems associated with the JAMB

and as such, its continued existence has posed more challenges for the

Nigeria educational system."