Experts divide on JAMB’s unified entrance examination for tertiary institution

Sam Egwu, Minister of Education Sulaimon Olanrewaju, in this piece, presents reactions of some stakeholders to the plan of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to hold a Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination as from next year.

Registrar/Chief Executive, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Dibu Ojerinde, jolted the nation last week with the announcement that from 2010, the board would merge the matriculation examinations conducted by it into one.

In essence, prospective students into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education would take one common examination.

The JAMB boss, who was addressing journalists in Abuja said, “next year, we are going to commence the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). For the first time, we are going to combine the UME (University Matriculation Examination) and polytechnics, and college of education examinations.”

Ojerinde said the new initiative would eliminate discrimination among tertiary institutions and provide candidates with equal opportunities to the limited spaces. He said further that it would encourage students to take interest in polytechnics and colleges of education.

If the new arrangement gets government approval, each UTME candidate will have six schools of choice which could be spread among the three institution types.

Since the announcement was made last week, opinions have been divided on the issue. Some were skeptical about the success of UTME while others believed it could lead to improvement in the nation’s education sector.

According to Mr. Bayo Ayefeso a lawyer and a parent, the three institutions cater for different categories of students. So, why unifying the admission requirements or the examination?”

Ayefeso said: “Whoever is seeking admission into a college of education knows why he doing so. To compel those who are seeking admission into a college of education to take the same entrance examination with those seeking university admission to me, will limit the chances of those whose target is the lower levels.”

Ayefeso also lamented JAMB’s plan to unify the entry qualifications for all tertiary institutions in the country. “Really, I don’t think this is fair on those whose ambition is to gain admission into either the polytechnic or a college of education. Unless properly handled, this policy is likely to kill polytechnics and colleges of education because their enrolment is likely to decline. If all a candidate needed to gain admission into a college was just four credit passes, with this new policy that will have to change since all candidates will have to satisfy the same entry requirement.”

Speaking in a similar vein, Professor ‘Deremi Abubakre, Vice Chancellor, Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, said he was not sure the move was in right direction. According to him, “the standards of the institutions are different, so, where is the meeting point? It is like asking Junior Secondary School students to take the same examination with Senior Secondary School students, can that work?

“The policy is likely to lower the standards unless the candidates are going to take separate examinations the same day. I know that JAMB wanted to remove some bottlenecks, but what about quality control?”

Abubakre, however, added that he would like to give the Dibu Ojerinde-led JAMB benefit of doubt. “Professor Ojerinde is a very brilliant person. I know he must have put things into consideration.

Change is the only thing that is constant. For us to progress as a people, we must embrace change. So, let us wait and see how events unfold.”

In his own comment, Professor Francis Egbokhare, Director, Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan, said he knew that the move would lead to cost saving by JAMB.

“I know this will save JAMB some cost in organising the examinations. The cost of organising two or three examinations cannot be compared with the cost of just one examination.”

He, however, raised the issue of what the examination was meant to test. “I know that the Federal Government is working on the idea of conferring the honour of awarding degrees on the polytechnics but the question remains are the two institutions supposed to be testing the same skills? Are university and college of education students supposed to possess the same skills? If they are supposed to possess the same skills, then there is no problem, they can write the same entrance examination. But if they are supposed to possess different skills, subjecting them to the same test may not be the same. But the people in charge of the examinations are the experts.”

Professor Tola Odumosu, Rector, Abraham Adesanya Polytechnic, Ijebu Igbo, holds a view different from the others. The Professor of Geography believes that unifying entrance examinations for candidates of the nation’s tertiary institutions would lead to polytechnics and colleges of education having quality students.

“Unlike before when polytechnics had to make do with left over students, now with the new arrangement, polytechnics too can have access to front range of students because every candidate has to pick a polytechnic as one of the school choices,” he said. “This will lead to polytechnics having the same quality of students as the universities and this is good for our education system.”

Odumosu added that letting candidates seeking admission into the polytechnic take the same examination as their university counterpart was the first step in putting polytechnic students at par with university students.

He said, “By letting them take the same examination, the government is already removing the inferiority complex which polytechnic students have been facing. Because the government wants polytechnics to award degrees, it is important that prospective polytechnic students take the same entrance examination.”

According to the rector, rather than the new development negatively affecting the population of polytechnics, it would boost it because, “now, candidates will rush the polytechnics as they do the universities.”