1 week Ago By Okafor Luke
The somersault policy on education, especially the process of qualification for admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions is simply double punishment, exploitative and frustrating on the parts of economically strained parents and helpless students. In the 1970s, individual universities advertised for candidates to apply and write entrance examinations that qualify successful candidates into undergraduate programmes of their choice. In the 1980s/1990s, JAMB was considered a good alternative for conducting entry examinations that qualify candidates to study any course of their choice in any university listed in the JAMB brochure.
Then, admission into tertiary institutions through either of the above channels was economical and friendly. Parents and candidates enjoyed less stress and were better focused on saving and studying for a singular channel of university admission. Under the above two admission policies, universities know how to use credible internal performance-based mechanisms to weed-out poor-performing or unserious undergraduates out of the universities.
Recently, JAMB introduced a more dignified and relatively examination malpractices-free Computer Based-Test(CBT) to qualify candidates for admission into any chosen post-secondary institutions in Nigeria. Many concerned parents or Nigerians will testify that CBT is comparatively free from examination malpractices and should be solely sufficient for any qualified candidates to be admitted into any post-secondary institution in Nigeria. Around the same period, Post-UTME with similar qualities and purpose was introduced.
The big question is, why combine JAMB- based CBT and individual university-based Post-UTME as compulsory entry requirements into any post-secondary institutions in Nigeria, when either of them is ideally sufficient for admission. The poorly remunerated parents pay huge amounts for their children/wards to write WAEC, JAMB-CBT and Post-UTME for various Universities. Often, all these payments and stress on parents and students respectively do not guarantee admission into the post-secondary institutions in Nigeria.
Most parents and students do repeat these processes severally before gaining admission. Surprisingly, the FGN and her education policy makers do not care about the number of years many candidates with credits on relevant WAEC subjects, sit at home frustrated. The summary of the above combination is frustration on the part of students who are qualified for post-secondary admissions, but fail in either or both of the CBT and Post-UTME.
As far as the education policy crafters are concerned, any candidate who has relevant WAEC credits can stay at home as long as the candidate fails one of these undergraduate enrollment examinations. Presently, there are allegations that many university stooges are using the Post-UTME to enrich their pockets even without securing admission for their patrons. The most frustrating part of this imbroglio is witnessed during employment and appointment to positions of authority in Nigeria.
The same qualified candidate who was denied admission into Nigerian University due to failure in either or both JAMB and Post-UTME, goes abroad, studies, returns back to Nigeria and is offered employment or appointment before the mate who struggled to gain admission after many attempts. Who is fooling who in this type of scenario? Based on the consequences of this preventable exploitation and frustration, it will be heartwarming for FGN and her education policy makers to choose between JAMB-based CBT and University-based Post-UTME as singular means of admission to post-secondary institutions in Nigeria. Making both examinations compulsory for entry into post-secondary institutions in Nigeria is no longer sustainable based on the present economic hardship on families and the important need for Nigeria to meet-up with the trending education-induced advancements in research and technology.
Secondly, what are the benefits of this exploitation and frustration-oriented education policy to Nigerian poor masses when Nigeria students do gain admission into Universities abroad with good WAEC results only. Thirdly, it is true that most advanced nations do not employ Nigerian graduates directly into their workforce without additional training and qualifications. Then, why retain this double punishment of exploitation and frustration on parents and candidates.
It is time to review this portion of the cost of education to favour our parents and our global educational rating, and subsequently reduce or avoid the number of years qualified candidates stay home due to failure in either or both CBT and Post-UTME. If need be, one of these examinations is enough to qualify candidates into undergraduate enrollment in Nigeria Post-secondary institutions. Pharm.
Okafor Luke writes Lagos, Nigeria. [email protected].
