#Polytechnic with lower JAMB cut off mark
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Impact of JAMB Cut Off Marks on Admission Fraud
In recent years, the role of JAMB (Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board) cut-off marks in the Nigerian education system has come under increased scrutiny. These cut-off marks serve as a critical factor in determining a student's eligibility for admission into tertiary institutions. However, the system has not been without its flaws. One of the more troubling concerns is how the manipulation of JAMB cut-off marks has contributed to admission fraud. Understanding this connection is crucial for you as a stakeholder in Nigeria’s educational system.

What Are JAMB Cut Off Marks?
JAMB cut-off marks are the minimum scores required for candidates to gain admission into universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education in Nigeria. These scores vary depending on the institution and course of study. Generally, universities set higher marks than polytechnics or colleges. JAMB, which oversees entrance into these institutions, annually reviews and adjusts the cut-off mark.
JAMB, as an examining body, sets a national cut-off point, but schools have the liberty to adjust these marks upward depending on their admission policies. For instance, a candidate who scores just below the cut-off may still be considered if the institution decides to lower its requirements.
The Link Between JAMB Cut Off Marks and Admission Fraud
Admission fraud in Nigeria often stems from the discrepancy between a candidate's performance and the JAMB cut-off mark. Many students who fail to meet the required score resort to illegal means, such as bribery, manipulation of results, or backdoor admissions, to gain entry into their preferred institutions. This creates a systemic problem that affects the integrity of the admission process.
Manipulation of Results
In some instances, candidates engage in result falsification or pay intermediaries to help boost their scores above the required JAMB cut-off mark. Fraudsters take advantage of the desperation among students, exploiting their desire to pursue higher education at all costs. Such acts undermine the purpose of the cut-off mark, which is intended to be a benchmark for academic merit.
Bribery and Corruption
You may also be aware of cases where candidates bribe admission officers or other gatekeepers to secure admission. This often happens when a student is just a few points shy of the required cut-off. Unfortunately, this not only perpetuates fraud but also compromises the educational standards, as less qualified candidates displace those who rightfully deserve admission based on their scores.
Special Consideration Admissions
Some institutions have been accused of bending the rules by offering "special consideration" to candidates with connections or financial means. While this is not new, the existence of JAMB cut-off marks has made the practice more opaque. Schools might officially adhere to the JAMB criteria, but in practice, they allow unqualified students to bypass these requirements through unofficial channels.
How Lowering JAMB Cut Off Marks Encourages Fraud
Lowering the JAMB cut-off mark is often seen as a way to accommodate more students, particularly in underserved regions or among disadvantaged groups. However, this practice can inadvertently encourage more admission fraud. When the cut-off is too low, the competition shifts from academic merit to who can game the system.
Here’s how that happens:
Increased desperation: As cut-off marks become less stringent, students who barely miss the mark might feel emboldened to engage in fraudulent activities, believing that they were "almost there" and deserve a spot.
Institutional loopholes: Universities and other institutions might exploit the flexibility in cut-off marks by creating additional quotas or unofficial channels for admission, which can be monetized or reserved for those with connections.
The Consequences of Admission Fraud
Admission fraud has far-reaching consequences for the educational sector. It compromises the quality of education, as students who do not meet the academic requirements are admitted at the expense of more qualified candidates. Additionally, it creates a system where meritocracy is replaced by favoritism, eroding trust in institutions.
For you as a potential candidate or concerned parent, this undermines your confidence in the fairness of the system. It also means that graduates entering the workforce might not have the skills or qualifications they should have, which affects the country’s broader economic and social development.
Steps Toward Reform
To combat the issue of admission fraud, there is a need for stricter enforcement of JAMB regulations and higher transparency in the admission process. Universities should also be held accountable for following JAMB's set guidelines and avoiding unnecessary manipulations of the system. As a candidate, you should stay informed about the official JAMB requirements and be wary of offers that seem too good to be true.
In addition, technology can play a vital role in monitoring and verifying results to ensure that they cannot be altered after the fact. Better coordination between JAMB and educational institutions will also help close the gaps that fraudsters exploit.
Conclusion
The impact of JAMB cut-off marks on admission fraud is a reflection of broader systemic issues in Nigeria’s education sector. While JAMB’s role in setting standardized cut-off marks is meant to ensure fairness, loopholes have allowed fraud to thrive. The key to combating this issue lies in a combination of regulatory reform, institutional accountability, and increased awareness among students like you. Staying vigilant and advocating for a more transparent system can help ensure that merit, not manipulation, determines admission outcomes.
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Controversy on cut off ; Professor Oloyede explains the basis for the reduction in cut-off marks for students admission
Controversy on cut off mark: UTME not for admission purpose but for Ranking -- Professor Oloyede (JAMB Registrar The Interview The decision to reduce the cut-off mark to 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics has met with criticism from many quarters. It seems it is not a popular decision....... You see, the issue is that people who are not familiar with a matter, rather than keeping their peace, will be commenting on things that they know little about. Our examination is not an achievement test. It is not a qualifying examination; rather, it is a ranking examination. Anybody that we want to admit into the university must basically have his five credits. It is not JAMB that qualifies them. But, because we don't have space for all of them, we decide to rank them. What we had been doing was to ensure that nobody who scored less than 200 had a chance. But, this year, we are saying that anybody who scores up to 120 has a chance. With 200, we have never filled our quota in the last 10 years. Some of those who scored over 200 do not have five credits in their O level results. And you cannot be admitted if you don't have five credits. Those who are talking have not even dissected the problem, yet they are making recommendations. Other agencies all over the world, like the UKEAS in the United Kingdom, also rank candidates. Some of them do not even conduct any examination. Our examination is not a qualifying examination, it is a ranking examination. What that means is that you can't admit anybody unless he is qualified. What qualifies an individual is the O level, not the UTME. The children of those who are objecting to this decision go to the UK to study. Do they write the UTME there? They are unfair to the common man who has not stolen money to study in Ghana and the UK. It is part of a class war that the poor man must be kept under. This is a ranking examination and this is a decision of all vice-chancellors, provosts and rectors. Commentators cannot claim to know more than these people do because they are commenting out of ignorance. If you have 10 spaces and five of your children are qualified, then you look for a way of ranking them. You can use age. It does not mean that the number six child is not qualified. But, because he came sixth, then you take the first five. And you can decide on three male children and two female children. So, the fourth male child will not say that you are unfair because there is a parameter. So, our examination is for ranking purposes. We want to rank all qualified candidates and what makes them qualified is the O level. As I speak with you, there was no time in the last 10 years that we have filled 70 per cent of the quota. The colleges of education and polytechnics are there doing nothing. And they kept on admitting students under the table. We are saying no more under-the-table deals. Come and tell us what you are doing under the table and let us see it. But people are commenting on matters that that they are not familiar with. But 120/400 is a far cry from a pass mark… I have answered that question. It is not the UTME that qualifies the candidate for admission. It is a ranking examination. We are not telling you to admit this or that candidate. Let me give you an example. Someone scores 300 and another scores 140, the person with 300 has four credits and the person with 140 has five credits. What it means is that you cannot take the candidate with 300 and you cannot also admit the candidate with 140. That is what we have been doing. What we are now saying is that JAMB is a clearing house. That is why people are faking our results and for them, it is a do or die affair. This is because we have created an unnecessary hurdle. Everywhere in the world, what qualifies candidates is the O level. The same thing applies to us. But because we do not have enough space, we have set an examination for them to rank them. There is no pass or fail with the UTME. We are not saying that universities should leave somebody with 230 and take another with 140. Let me give you another example. We have never filled 50 per cent of the quota for Physics in the last 10 years. Not that there are no individuals who want to study Physics, but because they did not meet the cut-off point. You are paying the lecturers, but the classrooms are vacant. And, if the candidate is fortunate enough to have parents who can sponsor him to Ghana, he will go to that country with his O level and come back with the same degree. He will now be boasting to his colleagues who were not fortunate enough to have a father who can pay their transport fare. The belief has always been that our universities are oversubscribed… I am in a position to know and I know that they are not oversubscribed. There are institutions that are oversubscribed, but they are few. Tell some institutions, maybe more than five, that have in the last 10 years, filled 70 per cent of their admission capacities. It is because there is a mismatch. You ask universities to admit 60 per cent of science students and 40 per cent of those who studied humanities. But what the school system is producing is 70 per cent Arts students and 30 per cent Science students. How do you react to arguments that this was done to assist private universities to lower their standard and accommodate these candidates? That is not correct. I have no reason to encourage private universities. But, having said that, for God's sake, what is bad in encouraging private universities? You allowed them to be established, you set up regulatory agencies for them and you abandon them. I travelled to Uganda and discovered that 40 per cent of the students in private universities in Kampala are Nigerians. I went to their classrooms and took pictures with them. They did not sit for the UTME, but because their parents are comfortable, they want to oppress the children of the poor. Do you see public universities adjusting their cut-off marks with the latest development?.. Universities are universities. They have the right, under the law, to admit whom they want to admit. All these people commenting, you will see their reaction when they start to see results. I am not afraid of controversy. I know where I am going and they are the ones who are just commenting casually. I have a goal. I want to appeal to people to be patient and reserve their comments. Let us see the results. I have been in this for 40 years. Why can't you credit me with the fact that I had the opportunity of being the chairman of the Academic Planners of Nigeria Universities, where we plan academic matters? I had the fortune of being the chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors, I had the opportunity of coordinating the association in West Africa and I had the opportunity of being the president of the association in Africa. Don't you think that I would have studied the situation? How do you react to the fact that facilities in our institutions are overstretched? What we have done has not increased quota. We have taken all those into consideration. Not JAMB alone, but also the NUC, NCC and the NBTE. We have fixed a quota, based on availableg facilities. We are not telling schools to overshoot their quota, we are saying, "Bring those people who are roaming the streets into the classrooms to fill the quota." What correlation do facilities and that has to do? I am not the one who fixed the quota.
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Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Is’haq Oloyede
A group, the Education Rights Campaign, ERC, has demanded for a reversal of the new cut-off marks set by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
The board had with the approval of vice chancellors, provosts and rectors of all Nigerian institutions on Tuesday set the cut-off marks as 120 for degree awarding institutions, 100 for monotechnics and polytechnics and 110 for innovative enterprising institutes.
Until the review, the marks were 180 for degree awarding institutions and 150 for the others.
The ERC said in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Hassan Soweto, and secretary, Ibukun Omole, that lowering of cut-off mark cannot solve the existing crisis in the education sector especially in primary and secondary schools.
“This collapse of quality education at secondary school level is no doubt the outcome of the policy of underfunding and education privatization pursued by successive governments over the last three decades which saw a boom in establishment of private schools many without any real facility nor quality teachers, a variety of which is beginning to manifest at the tertiary levels today.”
According to ERC, by lowering the cut off marks, JAMB is effectively preparing the ground for another crisis in the medium and long term.
“If the quality of education continues to worsen as it definitely would if government fails to step in with more funding, it is only a matter of time before candidates are unable to make 120 cut-off marks. If this happens, would JAMB lower it to 50?”
The group said the proper way to rectify this problem is reversing the underfunding and privatisation of primary and secondary education through government massive investment in public schools.
ERC said the government must begin to rebuild decayed school infrastructures across the country, establish new schools and employ more teachers and support staff with improved remunerations.
ERC noted that ‘there is a motive’ behind JAMB’s lowering of the cut off marks while referring to the JAMB registrar, Ishaq Oloyede’s justification for the reduction as off the mark and weak.
Oloyede had earlier gave a defence: “30 per cent of those in higher institutions do not take JAMB or have less than the cut off marks. The admission process is now automated with direct involvement of the registrars of JAMB for final approval. We have agreed to regularise admissions that were done under the table this year. From next year we will not accept anything like that.”
ERC said private tertiary institutions are the usually culpable in this kind of lawlessness because they are often under-subscribed and are always cutting corners to increase their intake.
ERC said it rejects this attempt to ‘legalize illegality.’
“We demand the names of the institutions that engaged in unlawful admission of candidates to be publicly disclosed and duly penalized.”
“We wish to tell JAMB Registrar that JAMB is a public institution funded by tax payers monies and that he was appointed to act in favour of the interests of the general public and not private interests,” the group said.
Courtesy; Premium times
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UTME not for admission, but for ranking – Oloyede
Criticisms have been the reaction since the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board announced the decision to peg the minimum benchmark for admission into universities at 120 and 100 for polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education. In this interview, the JAMB registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, responded to issues raised so far by stakeholders, writes FOLASHADE ADEBAYO. Excerpts
The decision to reduce the cut-off mark to 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics has met with criticism from many quarters. It seems it is not a popular decision.
You see, the issue is that people who are not familiar with a matter, rather than keeping their peace, will be commenting on things that they know little about. Our examination is not an achievement test. It is not a qualifying examination; rather, it is a ranking examination. Anybody that we want to admit into the university must basically have his five credits. It is not JAMB that qualifies them. But, because we don’t have space for all of them, we decide to rank them. What we had been doing was to ensure that nobody who scored less than 200 had a chance. But, this year, we are saying that anybody who scores up to 120 has a chance. With 200, we have never filled our quota in the last 10 years. Some of those who scored over 200 do not have five credits in their O level results.
And you cannot be admitted if you don’t have five credits. Those who are talking have not even dissected the problem, yet they are making recommendations. Other agencies all over the world, like the UKEAS in the United Kingdom, also rank candidates. Some of them do not even conduct any examination. Our examination is not a qualifying examination, it is a ranking examination. What that means is that you can’t admit anybody unless he is qualified. What qualifies an individual is the O level, not the UTME. The children of those who are objecting to this decision go to the UK to study. Do they write the UTME there? They are unfair to the common man who has not stolen money to study in Ghana and the UK. It is part of a class war that the poor man must be kept under.
This is a ranking examination and this is a decision of all vice-chancellors, provosts and rectors. Commentators cannot claim to know more than these people do because they are commenting out of ignorance. If you have 10 spaces and five of your children are qualified, then you look for a way of ranking them. You can use age. It does not mean that the number six child is not qualified. But, because he came sixth, then you take the first five.
And you can decide on three male children and two female children. So, the fourth male child will not say that you are unfair because there is a parameter. So, our examination is for ranking purposes. We want to rank all qualified candidates and what makes them qualified is the O level. As I speak with you, there was no time in the last 10 years that we have filled 70 per cent of the quota. The colleges of education and polytechnics are there doing nothing. And they kept on admitting students under the table. We are saying no more under-the-table deals. Come and tell us what you are doing under the table and let us see it. But people are commenting on matters that that they are not familiar with.
But 120/400 is a far cry from a pass mark…
I have answered that question. It is not the UTME that qualifies the candidate for admission. It is a ranking examination. We are not telling you to admit this or that candidate. Let me give you an example. Someone scores 300 and another scores 140, the person with 300 has four credits and the person with 140 has five credits. What it means is that you cannot take the candidate with 300 and you cannot also admit the candidate with 140. That is what we have been doing. What we are now saying is that JAMB is a clearing house. That is why people are faking our results and for them, it is a do or die affair. This is because we have created an unnecessary hurdle. Everywhere in the world, what qualifies candidates is the O level. The same thing applies to us. But because we do not have enough space, we have set an examination for them to rank them. There is no pass or fail with the UTME. We are not saying that universities should leave somebody with 230 and take another with 140.
Let me give you another example. We have never filled 50 per cent of the quota for Physics in the last 10 years. Not that there are no individuals who want to study Physics, but because they did not meet the cut-off point. You are paying the lecturers, but the classrooms are vacant. And, if the candidate is fortunate enough to have parents who can sponsor him to Ghana, he will go to that country with his O level and come back with the same degree. He will now be boasting to his colleagues who were not fortunate enough to have a father who can pay their transport fare.
The belief has always been that our universities are oversubscribed…
I am in a position to know and I know that they are not oversubscribed. There are institutions that are oversubscribed, but they are few. Tell some institutions, maybe more than five, that have in the last 10 years, filled 70 per cent of their admission capacities. It is because there is a mismatch. You ask universities to admit 60 per cent of science students and 40 per cent of those who studied humanities. But what the school system is producing is 70 per cent Arts students and 30 per cent Science students.
How do you react to arguments that this was done to assist private universities to lower their standard and accommodate these candidates?
That is not correct. I have no reason to encourage private universities. But, having said that, for God’s sake, what is bad in encouraging private universities? You allowed them to be established, you set up regulatory agencies for them and you abandon them. I travelled to Uganda and discovered that 40 per cent of the students in private universities in Kampala are Nigerians. I went to their classrooms and took pictures with them. They did not sit for the UTME, but because their parents are comfortable, they want to oppress the children of the poor.
Do you see public universities adjusting their cut-off marks with the latest development?
University of Ibadan terminates first Semester Exams
Universities are universities. They have the right, under the law, to admit whom they want to admit. All these people commenting, you will see their reaction when they start to see results. I am not afraid of controversy. I know where I am going and they are the ones who are just commenting casually. I have a goal. I want to appeal to people to be patient and reserve their comments. Let us see the results. I have been in this for 40 years. Why can’t you credit me with the fact that I had the opportunity of being the chairman of the Academic Planners of Nigeria Universities, where we plan academic matters? I had the fortune of being the chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors, I had the opportunity of coordinating the association in West Africa and I had the opportunity of being the president of the association in Africa. Don’t you think that I would have studied the situation?
How do you react to the fact that facilities in our institutions are overstretched?
What we have done has not increased quota. We have taken all those into consideration. Not JAMB alone, but also the NUC, NCC and the NBTE. We have fixed a quota, based on available facilities. We are not telling schools to overshoot their quota, we are saying, “Bring those people who are roaming the streets into the classrooms to fill the quota.” What correlation do facilities and that has to do? I am not the one who fixed the quota.
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The Joint Admission Matriculation Board’s decision to make 120 the cut off mark for entry into universities has been rejected by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The Chairman of ASUU at the University of Ibadan, Dr. Deji Omole, said it was the dream of the present government to destroy education in the country.
He said, “Where are the students that the JAMB registrar said entered universities illegally? Which universities admitted them? If 30 per cent did not take JAMB and found their way into the university system, is that not corruption and a message that JAMB is not significant anymore? What sanction did those who did the illegal thing receive other than regularisation of illegality.
“We are watching because long before now we have said that JAMB has outlived its usefulness. Let the universities set their unique standards and those who are qualified can come in. Scoring 120 out of 400 marks is 30 per cent. Even in those days, 40 per cent was graded as pass. But now JAMB said with F9 which is scoring 30 per cent you can be admitted.
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“They deliberately want to destroy education. Even for polytechnic, 100 marks is 25 per cent. It is sad. And that is where we are in Nigeria. They want to destroy public education at all costs. This is not setting standard for education in Nigeria. It is purely lowering standards and digging grave for the future. This is why ASUU is currently on the struggle to influence the government to do the needful for education in Nigeria.”
He said, “Rather than sanctioning the identified universities that admitted over 17,000 students illegally, the JAMB registrar simply regularised illegality and lowered cut-off marks to favour the interests of the friends of government who own private universities and are hell bent on destroying public education.”
Many vice-chancellors have also spoken out against the decision, saying they will not lower the entry requirements for their respective institutions.
in a statement issued by the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, on the issue and released by his Media Assistant, Mr. Sunday Saanu, on Thursday, the premier university stated that it would never admit any candidate that scored 120 in the UTME.
The statement added, “It should worry us as patriots that candidates who scored just 30 per cent in the UTME can be admitted into some of our universities. Yet, we complain of poor quality of our graduates. You can hardly build something on nothing. The consolation here is that since JAMB started conducting this qualifying exam in 1978, UI has never admitted any candidate who scored less than 200 marks out of the maximum 400 marks.
“This translates to a minimum of 50 per cent. This remains our position as an institution aspiring to be world-class. Reality is that only about four other universities in the country have such high standard. To that extent, apart from being the oldest, we are an elite university in the country at least judging by the quality of our intakes.’’
“It is gratifying to note that the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who chaired the meeting, apologised publicly for canceling the post-UTME screening last year.
“In effect, universities are now allowed to conduct the test using modalities approved by the Senate of each institution.
“To be fair to the incumbent Registrar of JAMB, he was not the Registrar when the policy somersault of cancelling the post-UTME test was made last year. As strongly canvassed by us at every opportunity, for UI, the need to admit the best admission seekers is the primary motivation for the test and not money, even though we do not pretend that you can run any university so properly called without funds.”
The Vice-Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Prof. Oluyemisi Obilade, has stated that the institution will never go below 180.
She said, “But some universities chose 120 at the meeting. What the JAMB has done is to transfer power back to the Senate of universities to decide their cut-off marks. What I can tell you is that many public universities and even private universities will not go below 200. We were told that some universities were doing what they called ‘under the table admission’ and then come back to JAMB after four years for regularisation.
“TASUED will not go below 180, not under my watch. Even in the United States, there is what we call Ivy League universities, and there are those you can call ‘Next Level Universities.’ There are also those that are termed community colleges. At the meeting, the outcome is that universities have been given the freedom to decide. It is not general legislation and it is not binding on everybody.’’
The Dean of Students Affairs, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Kayode Alese, who spoke on behalf of FUTA management, said the school would never go as low as 120.
“However, I can assure you that FUTA has never gone as low as 120. It has never happened and it will never happen,” he said.
Alese added, “Having spoken for the university, my personal opinion is that the 120 cut-off mark will not add value to our education system. The Federal Government has just increased the pass mark from 40 to 45 in universities. What that means is that you must score at least 45 for you to pass any course. We have enough candidates and yes you may try to increase access but tertiary education should be for those who have the capability.’’
The Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Tope Ogunmodede, said the institution would not admit any candidate with 120 UTME score.
He said, “Traditionally, OAU has never admitted students who scored below 200 in the UTME. For us, we are sticking to 200. The minimum benchmark is 120 but you can go higher than that. I expect that an institution should be able to determine the quality of its graduates because there are internal exams. What has been done is to provide a leeway for universities to decide their cut-off marks.”
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VCs, ASUU reject 120 cut-off mark for varsity admission
Vice-Chancellors and the Academic Staff Union of Universities have rejected the decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to peg admission cut-off mark at 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education.
ASUU said the action, which it described as a “sad policy decision,” was in tandem “with the dream of the present government to destroy public universities in the country.”
Most of the vice-chancellors our correspondents interviewed on the issue maintained that they would not lower admission standards in their respective varsities.
The vice-chancellors stated that the decision would add no value to the nation’s university system.
For instance, in a statement issued by the Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka, on the issue and released by his Media Assistant, Mr. Sunday Saanu, on Thursday, the premier university stated that it would never admit any candidate that scored 120 in the UTME.
The statement added, “It should worry us as patriots that candidates who scored just 30 per cent in the UTME can be admitted into some of our universities. Yet, we complain of poor quality of our graduates. You can hardly build something on nothing. The consolation here is that since JAMB started conducting this qualifying exam in 1978, UI has never admitted any candidate who scored less than 200 marks out of the maximum 400 marks.
“This translates to a minimum of 50 per cent. This remains our position as an institution aspiring to be world-class. Reality is that only about four other universities in the country have such high standard. To that extent, apart from being the oldest, we are an elite university in the country at least judging by the quality of our intakes.’’
Olayinka, however, commended the decision of the Federal Government to re-introduce the post-UTME test and exonerated the incumbent JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, from the cancellation of the test two sessions ago.
“It is gratifying to note that the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who chaired the meeting, apologised publicly for canceling the post-UTME screening last year.
“In effect, universities are now allowed to conduct the test using modalities approved by the Senate of each institution.
“To be fair to the incumbent Registrar of JAMB, he was not the Registrar when the policy somersault of cancelling the post-UTME test was made last year. As strongly canvassed by us at every opportunity, for UI, the need to admit the best admission seekers is the primary motivation for the test and not money, even though we do not pretend that you can run any university so properly called without funds.”
Speaking to one of our correspondents on Thursday, the Vice-Chancellor, Tai Solarin University of Education, Ogun State, Prof. Oluyemisi Obilade, said that the onus would ultimately fall on parents and employers of labour to decide “between a first-class graduate of a university which takes 120 as its cut-off mark or one that takes 180 as its cut-off mark.’’
Obilade, who said that TASUED would never go below 180, insisted that many of the VCs at the Combined Policy Meeting during which the 120 benchmark decision was made, said they would not go below 180.
She said, “But some universities chose 120 at the meeting. What the JAMB has done is to transfer power back to the Senate of universities to decide their cut-off marks. What I can tell you is that many public universities and even private universities will not go below 200. We were told that some universities were doing what they called ‘under the table admission’ and then come back to JAMB after four years for regularisation.
“TASUED will not go below 180, not under my watch. Even in the United States, there is what we call Ivy League universities, and there are those you can call ‘Next Level Universities.’ There are also those that are termed community colleges. At the meeting, the outcome is that universities have been given the freedom to decide. It is not general legislation and it is not binding on everybody.’’
Speaking with journalists in Ibadan, the Chairman of ASUU at the University of Ibadan, Dr. Deji Omole, said it was the dream of the present government to destroy education in the country.
He said, “Rather than sanctioning the identified universities that admitted over 17,000 students illegally, the JAMB registrar simply regularised illegality and lowered cut-off marks to favour the interests of the friends of government who own private universities and are hell bent on destroying public education.”
Omole said it was vital for JAMB to be scrapped in order to save the nation’s education and its future. He said the board had outlived its usefulness and that prospective students should apply directly to universities of their choice for admission.
He said, “Where are the students that the JAMB registrar said entered universities illegally? Which universities admitted them? If 30 per cent did not take JAMB and found their way into the university system, is that not corruption and a message that JAMB is not significant anymore? What sanction did those who did the illegal thing receive other than regularisation of illegality.
“We are watching because long before now we have said that JAMB has outlived its usefulness. Let the universities set their unique standards and those who are qualified can come in. Scoring 120 out of 400 marks is 30 per cent. Even in those days, 40 per cent was graded as pass. But now JAMB said with F9 which is scoring 30 per cent you can be admitted.
“They deliberately want to destroy education. Even for polytechnic, 100 marks is 25 per cent. It is sad. And that is where we are in Nigeria. They want to destroy public education at all costs. This is not setting standard for education in Nigeria. It is purely lowering standards and digging grave for the future. This is why ASUU is currently on the struggle to influence the government to do the needful for education in Nigeria.”
Also, the Dean of Students Affairs, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Prof. Kayode Alese, who spoke on behalf of FUTA management, said that the institution would soon unveil its cut-off mark.
“However, I can assure you that FUTA has never gone as low as 120. It has never happened and it will never happen,” he said.
Alese added, “Having spoken for the university, my personal opinion is that the 120 cut-off mark will not add value to our education system. The Federal Government has just increased the pass mark from 40 to 45 in universities. What that means is that you must score at least 45 for you to pass any course. We have enough candidates and yes you may try to increase access but tertiary education should be for those who have the capability.’’
Also, the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Tope Ogunmodede, said the institution would not admit any candidate with 120 UTME score.
He said, “Traditionally, OAU has never admitted students who scored below 200 in the UTME. For us, we are sticking to 200. The minimum benchmark is 120 but you can go higher than that. I expect that an institution should be able to determine the quality of its graduates because there are internal exams. What has been done is to provide a leeway for universities to decide their cut off mark
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