Post-UTME ban and proliferation of varsities

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, made a good point recently when he scrapped the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (post-UTME) in the country. Perhaps Adamu read the mood of parents and many stakeholders before coming up with the highly welcome policy that has been a recurring discourse in the nation’s education sector. Like everything in Nigeria, many have applauded Adamu’s decision while some have cried blue murder. In a diverse polity like ours, such is not unexpected. Without the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, predicting that the post-UTME will die a natural death since JAMB has eliminated the faults in UTME through the CBT, many Nigerians are already aware that the post-UTME will soon become irrelevant.
No doubt, the post-UTME has become a source of mental torture and agony for not only the candidates but also their parents that accompany them to write the test after passing JAMB successfully. Prospective university students will be singing a farewell song to post-UTME in their hearts now that the heavy load is off their head. The quality of education in the country can still be improved without subjecting the students to so many examinations, especially entry ones. As Adamu rightly contended, JAMB UTME is good enough for university admission.
Concerned parents and guardians who witness the trauma many students pass through to write the post-UTME, at times in horrible situations, would heave a sigh of relief that a Daniel has, at last, come to judgement. Beyond its being a duplication of effort, post-UTME has become another money-spinner or ATM that boosts the universities’ Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). That is why some universities may not be happy with Adamu for scrapping the post-UTME.
It will be recalled that the post-UTME came on board to correct the infidelities associated with JAMB examinations then. But before one could spell Jambito, the post-UTME became severely sick of the same ailment it came to cure.  And as the physician cannot heal himself, there is every need to bring in another superior one. And since JAMB has rebranded itself through the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode, which is largely free from earlier blights and imperfections of JAMB, it should continue and the universities must have confidence in UTME conducted by JAMB.
Since JAMB is now perfect, at least Adamu says so, there is no need for another examination for university admission. I am very much in alignment with Adamu’s thesis on the scrapping of post-UTME. But it will be good if Adamu could extend similar gesture to post-Unity College entrance examination called interview test scheduled to hold tomorrow throughout the country. Subjecting the pupils to another round of examination after passing the first one is tortuous and unnecessary. If one entrance examination is good enough for admission into Nigerian universities, then one entrance examination will also  be enough for admission into the Federal Government Colleges or Unity Schools.
Before the post-UTME spirit is finally laid to rest, government should put JAMB in good shape to shoulder its responsibilities very well. The shortcomings that trail the last UTME should be squarely addressed. JAMB should ensure that there are enough test centres for all the candidates.
But it appears the universities are yet to come to terms with the abolition of post-UTME if the avalanche of advertorials in the dailies calling for screening of prospective students for the 2016/17 academic session by some federal, state and private universities with varying amounts of money the candidates will cough out for the exercise is anything to go by. What these universities are doing contradicts Adamu’s stance on post-UTME. The minister should call them to order. The screening of candidates should not represent another drill or money yielding exercise.
Apart from the post-UTME problem, there are other problems plaguing the education sector that actually beg for serious attention. Although the springing up of new universities in the country arose as a measure to address the admission problem of many prospective university students that could not gain admission due to lack of space, the exercise like other things in the country, will soon be bastardized if the haste to establish mushroom universities is not checked promptly. It is lamentable when available land on major expressways is turned into a university overnight by  shylock proprietors. The building of university should not be turned into lucrative business many proprietors are fast turning the enterprise in Nigeria. Available statistics from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) show that most candidates prefer federal universities, states and private in that order. The number of candidates that apply for admission into the private universities is still so low. The last administration established some new federal universities, which are yet to be fully developed. Now President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has indicated intention to establish six new science and technological universities in the country. All of them are well-intentioned but let the government work towards equipping all its existing universities instead of rushing to establish new ones.
The manpower and equipment to run the new universities are lacking. State governments should consolidate the ones they have already and stop building new ones. The same should apply to the proprietors of private universities in the country. Government should save these universities the toga of “glorified secondary schools.” The National Universities Commission (NUC) has a role to play to bring sanity and order to the exercise. It should be very slow and meticulous in granting licences for new universities.
University licence should not be reduced to another revenue generating venture; otherwise the harm would be calamitous on our university education system. Let there be a moratorium on the establishment of new universities for now.
The proliferation of universities without corresponding increase in manpower and equipment in these institutions will not improve the quality of our university education. If the older universities are expanded, they will definitely increase their intake of students. While we sing Nunc Dimittis to the post-UTME, we call for a slow march to the establishment of new universities. The building of new universities should be matched with the building of industries where the graduates should be gainfully employed.