JAMB Not Ready To Extend UTME Validity Beyond One Year
As gaining admission into tertiary institutions in the country
becomes an arduous task, data obtained from some schools around the
country by The Guardian, sharply contradicts claims by the Joint
Admission and Matriculations that over 75 per cent of the total number
of qualified candidates that applied for admission were admitted into
institutions of their choice for the 2017/2018 academic session.
In fact, figures from only seven schools sampled by The Guardian,
indicated that 46, 950 candidates (barely 20 per cent) were admitted
from a pool of 244, 000, who were successful in the post Unified
Tertiary Matriculation Examination (POST-UTME).
The JAMB, which recently claimed that more than 90 per cent of
institutions in the country complied with the deadline to end their
2017/2018 admissions by January 25, also said that the introduction of
the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) by the board was to
ensure a seamless admission processing.
A breakdown of data from the sampled institutions showed that of the
104, 000 candidates that qualified for admission to the University of
Ilorin (UNILORIN), only 11, 000 were eventually admitted. In the case of
the University of Ibadan (UI), 27, 000 candidates scaled the hurdle,
but only 3, 750 got placements. Of the 20, 000 candidates that the Lagos
State University deemed qualified after the post-UTME, only 4, 000 were
lucky. Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Edo State, squeezed in 8, 000
candidates from the 15, 000 that were qualified, and the University of
Benin managed to absorb 10, 000 out of the 21, 000 that scaled through
at the post-UTME stage. The University of Port Harcourt gave admission
to only 6, 700 candidates out of the 37, 000 that recorded success in
the post-UTME, and the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo
State created space for a paltry 3, 500 out of the 20, 000 successful
candidates from its post-UTME.
JAMB’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Dr. Fabian Benjamin, in an
interview with The Guardian maintained that the few schools that
couldn’t adhere to the admission directive were those institutions with
peculiar challenges.He said: “More than 90 per cent of the admissions
have been completed by institutions as at the stipulated deadline. The
few that couldn’t meet up were those institutions with peculiar
challenges, some with accreditation status that are not clearly defined
and need regulatory authorisation; and some who are just taking off and
need what we call sourcing of candidates. This level of compliance is
encouraging and by next exercise, we should be talking about total
adherence.”
Asked what becomes of the thousands of candidates rolled over into
2018/2019 session, who have to start the fight anew in view of the
one-year validity of the UTME results, the JAMB image maker said, “It
was not within the powers of the board to determine what happens to a
candidate not admitted into any institution. Besides, we don’t roll over
candidates. It is the right of candidates to apply. However, what we
have succeeded in doing is to monitor admission closely, a development
that has led to more candidates being admitted this year.”
On calls by parents and candidates for the extension of the validity
of UTME result to three years as proposed by lawmakers, Benjamin said
that; “The three-year validity is not at the root of any admission
challenge. The inability of candidates to secure admissions are strictly
the choices we make as candidates, parents and some of the regulatory
policies. We are doing everything possible to address these challenges,
as we recently secured the approval of one of the regulatory agencies to
waive some subject combination for UTME.
As the admission crisis festers, some affected institutions are
urging the Federal Government to give priority attention to university
education by increasing its allocation to the sub-sector, and addressing
salient factors exacerbating the access challenge, which include
shortage of facilities for teaching and learning; shortage of academic
staff; inadequate number of universities; inconsistencies in admission
criteria across universities, and limitations in national admissions
policy.
According to Public Relations Officer, University of Port Harcourt,
Williams Wodi, instead of government considering the establishment of
new universities to cater for the teeming admission seekers, it should
expand the capacities of existing institutions.Wodi, who noted out that
of the 1.7 million that wrote the last UTME, the totality of all the
nation’s universities cannot take more than 570, 000 stressed that,
“this is a very big problem, already, lecturers are overburdened. The
NUC said we need about 32,000 Ph. D holders to teach in our
universities, where do we get that?”
While also harping on the need for the government to strengthen existing
colleges of education and polytechnics by upgrading them to
degree-awarding institutions, he urged the government to revamp
polytechnic education; make its products globally relevant and
competitive, and put in place uniform entry requirements for all
tertiary institutions. Media aide to the vice chancellor of the
University of Ibadan, Mr. Sunday Saanu, also stressed the need for
government to expand existing facilities for improved access.
