By Sam Otti
Former Vice Chancellor, IBB University, Lapai, Prof Ibrahim Kolo, has debunked claims that students offered admission on the basis of their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scores are the most academically incompetent at the undergraduate level. He said the declining performance of students at all levels of the nation’s educational institutions was largely the output of falling standards occasioned by resource-constrained schools.
Kolo made the explanation following a wave of criticism against the scrapping of post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Federal Ministry of Education. He said the emotional and some irrational outpourings by several groups and individuals in past weeks following the proscription of screening tests by individual universities only point to two issues: a lack of understanding of the technicalities of standardized tests as a key basis for setting minimum standards for determining eligibility for admission into higher institutions of learning; and the misunderstanding of the role of JAMB as provided for it by the law.
He stated that allowing admission tests by individual universities would only compromise the credibility of the process. He argued that universities and other tertiary institutions do not possess precisely the specifically technical capacities for standardized testing, which would affect the validity and reliability of expected competencies by candidates seeking admission.
Kolo, who was the former President, Counselling Association of Nigeria (CASSON), said universities reserve the right to withdraw students who do not attain specified academic performance standards (that is, CGPA of 1.5) after a number of semesters, noting that tertiary institutions are known to withdraw students with weak performance indices.
He maintained that the post-UTME was proscribed by the Minister in good fate because of its tendencies and vulnerability for direct and indirect exploitation of particularly poor candidates and their parents; and the autonomy which universities and other tertiary institutions have to “weed” out poor students who cannot cope academically after the minimum of two semesters based on examinations of the respective institutions.
“I think what is needed is to fashion out a more robust collaboration between the tertiary institutions and JAMB for a more hitch-free UTME exercise, rather than going for the jugular of the examination body (JAMB),” he stressed.
Kolo explained that contrary to the widespread belief that JAMB sets the criteria for admission for universities and other tertiary institutions, heads of institutions (and not JAMB) collectively determine the UTME cut off marks after JAMB would have presented the general performance of candidates during a particular year’s exercise.
“This usually takes place during the annual Policy Meeting of JAMB under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Education. In fact, it is during the 2016 Policy Meeting attended by Heads or Representatives of Tertiary Institutions that the collective decision to peg the cut off mark for all institutions at 180 was taken and announced by the Minister. At the Consultative Meeting, the Minister put the question to Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts to find out if they were satisfied with the conduct of JAMB in administering the UTME, and to which there was a resounding affirmation,” he observed.
The erudite scholar explained that the UTME is now conducted in foreign countries in Africa and even in the UK for admission into Nigerian universities. “When we lament poor ranking of Nigerian universities among world universities, one wonders if a stronger examination body for validly and reliably determining standards of candidates seeking admission and even graduating students is not one of the means of improving on the international ranking of our tertiary institutions.”
He expressed shock that some people even canvassed for a return to the days when only about five universities existed in the country and conducted their respective entrance examinations for much less number of candidates. According to him, canvassing the return to institutional autonomy over admissions tend to ignore the fact that JAMB was partly a recommendation arising for the change of the educational policy which abrogated the Higher School Certificate (HSC), making senior secondary leavers eligible for admission as well as the envisaged proliferation of universities and tertiary institutions meant to meet the increasing number of candidates seeking for university admission.
He also faulted those calling for the Advanced Level System, in which higher school certificate education of two or more years prepare all students for university. “The suggestion seems to have forgotten two major issues: The standard and quality of Education in Nigeria at all levels has so depreciated that the same HSC as we had them in those years can hardly be re-enacted again; and the universities and other tertiary institutions have since taken on the HSC or Advanced Level Education through the Basic Studies, Foundation Programmes, Preliminary Studies, Diploma Programmes, etc. all of which they use to and “re-prepare” for admission, candidates seeking for university admission”.
He explained that most of the universities admit students into these preparatory programmes on the basis of the same “O” level requirements for undergraduate admission. He argued that even when the candidates from these programmes are admitted into the universities through JAMB Direct Entry procedures, it has not in reality helped the quality of graduates of Nigerian universities.
“The situation cannot be blamed on JAMB or remedied through post-UTME. It is better to stop the blame game about post-UTME and concentrate on the steps or policy measures required for addressing the falling standards of education and strengthening the examination bodies to perform their functions creditably,” he insisted.