What JAMB’s ‘one-varsity only’ directive could mean
for candidates
Many candidates registering for this year’s
Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME, were shocked when they were
given the choice to pick only one university of their choice, contrary to the traditional
first and second choice options of universities and/or polytechnics. The Joint
Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, responsible for the UTME, in a new
policy has made it compulsory for candidates to pick one university, one
polytechnic, one college of education and one innovative enterprise institute
(IEI) when registering for their exams.
The Registrar, JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, believes
that this policy will go a long way in solving the admission crisis bedeviling
the country. In an exclusive interview, he said: “Most
university managements claim that they do not run second class universities,
and as a result, do not want to admit students who choose them as a second
choice. From our experience, universities refuse to take students who make them
a second choice, but they do not hesitate to collect the students’ money when
they want to write the post-UTME. And this is not fair to students.
So last year, Vice Chancellors of universities,
provosts of Polytechnics and other stakeholders in the sector decided that
students should only pick one university, one polytechnic, one college of
education and one innovative enterprise institute when applying to write the
UTME. If they do not follow these instructions, they cannot apply. We are
also hoping that this will go a long way to curb the admission crisis. A lot of
times, there are spaces in tertiary institutions other than universities, but
the bottle neck lies in the fact that everyone wants to go to the university.
So, beyond this move, the government must go a step
further to make these tertiary institutions degree-awarding institutions.
Professor Oby Ezekwesili had suggested this earlier. For example, Polytechnics
should be given the authority to award Bachelor of Technology awards. This will
go a long way in solving the dichotomy that exists which causes candidates to
flock mostly to the universities.”
As expected, most candidates are not pleased with
the development. One of such, Victoria Akachukwu told our correspondent: “I
don’t really like the idea of choosing only one university,” she said, “because
it means that my chances for entering the university are slimmer.
But on the other hand, it just means that I have to
work much harder so that I can get into the university and study my dream course
which is Law. Last year, I got admission into a polytechnic, but my Dad did not
want me to attend. So I have to try really hard so I can get into a university
this year.”
Other stakeholders are more concerned about the
implementation of the directive than the paper it is written on. The chairman,
Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, Dr. Chibuzor Asomugha argued:
“There have been different kinds of policies in the past, but the problem is
always with the implementation. Whatever step is being taken, stakeholders
should ensure that they follow up implementation.”
Dr. Andrews Jegede,
the National President of the Association of Innovation and Vocational
Institutions, said: “If this is well implemented, then the admission crisis the
country is facing is already solved. It means that government is beginning to
understand the need to give technical, vocational and teaching education their
rightful place. What we must do now is to encourage JAMB to ensure that the
cut-off marks agreed on are enforced across board. In other words: 180 and
above for universities, 160-169 for polytechnics, 150-159 for colleges of
education, and 150-159 for innovative enterprise institutes.”
There are about 120 institutions approved by the
FME and accredited by the National Board for Technical Education
(NBTE), and have been listed by the Joint Admissions and
Matriculation Board since 2007. IEIs cover areas such as computer hardware
engineering, software engineering, multimedia technology, oil and gas,
information technology, creative arts, industrial welding, early childcare
education, paralegal studies, computer networking and securities, film
production and many more.
The National Innovation Diploma (NID) is the
certification approved by the FME for IEIs. It is the equivalent of the
National Diploma, and it is equally four semesters of course work spanning over
two years with Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES).
In the past few years, the nation’s higher
institutions have only been able to accommodate about one third of the
population of teeming candidates who write the UTME every year. Whether the new
resolutions made by JAMB will help solve the admission crisis, remains to be
seen.
No comments:
Post a Comment