The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) has elevated four of its staff to the position of Directors.

The Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, conveyed the approval of the then Hon. Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, to the newl y-appointed Directors, whose appointments took effect from 23rd May, 2023.

The newly-promoted Directors are: Mr. Ibrahim Kawu, Psychometrics Department, Mrs. Pius Ville, Test Administration Department, Mr. Danladi Muhammed, Zonal Director, Bauchi, and Mrs. Gloria Anyaegbu, Director, Owerri State Office.

The Registrar, in his remarks during a brief presentation ceremony, congratulated the appointees on their new status.

He stated that the position of a Director is a highly revered one and must not be devalued adding that it was on account of this that only sound and qualified staff are promoted to the position. He advised the newly-promoted Directors to consider the number of years they had spent in the service of the Board stating that, as such, they must strive to protect the system at all cost.

The Registrar also charged them to be objective in their decision making and not to be beclouded by sentiments or personal interest.

The Directors, while responding to their elevation, took turns to commend the Registrar for initiating, expanding and consolidating the Directorate cadre of the Board, thereby creating room for career progression from which many officers had benefited.

The Directors also thanked the Registrar for his passion for staff welfare coupled with his unprecedented achievements since his assumption of office, which had carved a niche for the Board in national discourse. The presentation ceremony also witnessed goodwill messages from their other Directors, leadership of NASU, ASCSN, and ACTU, who, in their various speeches passed a vote of confidence on the Registrar for his landmark achievements in JAMB.

JAMB FIXES 24TH JUNE 2023 POLICY MEETING ON ADMISSIONS

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has fixed the 2023 Policy Meeting on Admissions for Saturday, 24th June, 2023. The event is scheduled to hold at the National Judicial Institute, Abuja. During the meeting, stateholders will discuss critical issues emanating from the just-concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), sale of Direct Entry (DE) application documents in addition to setting the tone for the 2023/2024 Admission exercise in tertiary institutions.

The Policy Meeting will be chaired by the Hon. Minister of Education with all Heads of Tertiary Institutions in attendance along with such relevant regulatory bodies as the National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE).

In an invitation sent to all Heads of Institutions, the Board states that only two representatives each from respective tertiary institutions compri s ing the Head of the Institution and one official of the institution, who shall be nominated by the Head, will be welcomed.

Other critical issues slated for discussion at the Policy Meeting aside issues emanating from the presentation of the Registrar, JAMB, on the just-concluded UTME, are other issues of national importance particularly as they concerned the education sector.

The meeting is also expected to chart policy directions for the nation’s tertiary institutions, set admission guidelines, present and analyse application statistics, and candidates’ performance, as well as evaluate the 2023 Admission exercise.

Furthermore, the Policy Meeting, among other things, would decide the acceptable minimum admissible score to be applied in all admissions to be undertaken by all tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It would be recalled that in 2022, the meeting granted institutions the power to set their minimum allowable cut -off marks for admission, which they cannot go below once adopted and general concessions reached.

SUDAN CRISIS: STAKEHOLDERS ROLL OUT MODALITIES FOR ABSORPTION OF RETURNEES

…Lists 14-Point Procedure for Absorption

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB)has rolled out modalities for the absorption of returnee students from war-torn countries into Nigerian universities.

The modalities are follow-ups to the high level meeting between the Federal Ministry of Education(FME), Federal Ministry of Health, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB), Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), National Universities Commission(NUC), and other critical stakeholders, on the integration of returnee Nigerian students from war-torn countries into the nation’s tertiary education system.

The Registrar, JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, while presenting the modalities at a virtual meeting with Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities and other critical stakeholders on Wednesday, 7th June,2023, said it was imperative to hold talks with the Vice Chancellors following the peculiarities of each university and the variation in the responses received from them on the matter.

The Registrar pointed out that the emergency meeting was, therefore, convened to fashion out uniform standards and minimum acceptable benchmarks for the proposed absorption in line with global best practices.

He also stated that the Senate of each university had the right to decide on university transfers and needed not wait for JAMB to initiate such adding that the parley with the stakeholders was to present the modalities for critique as well as receive inputs.

The Registrar reminded the Vice Chancellors to key into the earlier Advisory sent to universities on the procedures for processing applications for foreign and domestic inter-university transfers.

He stated that the current Advisory on returnee students does not override the earlier one as it rather serves to reinforce it by strengthening the procedures for transfers.

Goodwill messages were taken at the meeting from the representatives of the FME, NUC, NiDCOM and Vice Chancellors, who aligned themselves with the position of JAMB and promised to support the initiative.

According to the latest Advisory on procedures for emergency transfers of returning students, each of them is mandated to do a retroactive registration with the FME, visit the returnee application page on IBASS as accessible from the JAMB webs ite, where the returnee students would upload their registration slips, complete the transfer of personal data, which would include: name, NIN, telephone number, active e-mail account, current university, country, city of study and programme, year and current level of study. According to the new procedures, the returnee students would select their preferred university of choice, programme and upload the scanned copies of their current university admission letter, transcript, data page of their international passport and a sworn affidavit confirming the genuineness of uploaded documents.

The returnee students are directed to click SUBMIT for onward movement to their university of choice, which would receive a notification as well as an IBASS mail on the application for evaluation of the returnee’s credentials. If the returnee is found worthy of admission, a notification is sent to him on the status of the admission.

Consequently, successful returnee students would be directed via email and SMS to approach any JAMB Office in person to complete the inter- university transfer application. The Registrar charged the Vice Chancellors to be vigilant and thoroughly scrutinise the certificates submitted to their institutions to avoid any pitfall that could impugn their hard-earned reputation.

THE ARGUMENT OF JAMB ARBITRARY SCORE HAS EXPIRED – OLOYEDE

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has taken stock of the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) over the course of the past couple of years and submitted that the purported allegations of award of arbitrary score in the Board’s examination are no longer tenable.

This is not unconnected with the deployment of relevant technology to protect the sanctity of its examination towards precluding any forms of infractions. The Registrar stated this when he received a delegation from the Lagos State University of Education(LASUED) on Tuesday, 30th May, 2023, who had paid him a courtesy visit at his office in Bwari, Abuja.

The Registrar, who was speaking against the backdrop of the daily updates on progress and status of all admissions being conducted nationwide by all the over 900 tertiary institutions as presented on the dashboard of the Central Admissions Processing System(CAPS), pointed out that from his office he could see, not only the performance of the candidates, but their screening scores as well.

He stated that it was on account of the correlation of the scores of the high scoring candidates in the UTME with the institutions’ own screening ratings that the validity of the UTME as conducted by JAMB becomes evident.

Furthermore, he stated that those institutions which want to retest the candidates through the conduct of the post-UTME are doing so based on outdated perception of the poor validity of JAMB scores. “I have never discouraged any university from conducting post UTME because I know it would get to a point that the futility of such would be so clear.” “It is better they make post-UTME screening rather than examination as the argument that JAMB awards arbitrary scores has expired and can no longer be sustained.” “Hence, there is no need for institutions to subject candidates to another round of examinations.

Scores awarded by Jamb are not what they used to be,” he said. Furthermore, the Registrar advised the universities against localising their intakes and urged them to ensure that their top 10 percent subscription have a global outlook to enhance quality, networking and community development.

Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor, LASUED, Prof. Bidemi Bilkis Lafiaji-Okuneye, said the university’s functionaries had come to the Board’s Headquarters for a familiarization visit as well as seek closer ties with the Board. The Vice Chancellor thanked the Board for its support to the institution, promising that the university would not take such support for granted. Prof. Lafiaji-Okuneye, a Professor of Health Education, was formerly the Provost of Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) before she was appointed Vice Chancellor, LASUED, when the College was upgraded last year to a full-fledged degree-awarding institution.

EMBRACE THE SPIRIT OF HARD WORK, PUNCTUALITY AND DEDICATION TO DUTY – Mohammed

The Yobe State Coordinator of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Mr. Mohammed Umaru Mohammed, has charged members of staff of the State Office to embrace the spirit of hard work, punctual it y and dedication to duty.

The State Coordinator gave the charge on Monday, 5th June, 2023, during a change of baton ceremony organised by the former State Coordinator, Mr. Mohammed Suware, who has been redeployed to the Maiduguri Zonal Office as the Ag. Zonal Director, to officially hand over to the new Coordinator.

According to him, “hard work spotlights people. Some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses and some don’t turn up at all… I charge you all to eschew indolence, lackadaisical attitude and lateness to work, and embrace diligence, punctuality and dedication to duty, your work will speak for you.” Mr. Mohammed also urged members of staff of the State Office to always place the interest of the Board above self. Furthermore, he urged the staff to embrace the spirit of teamwork, which, he said, would promote interpersonal relationship and by extension, organizational development.

In his remarks, the outgoing State Coordinator, expressed his appreciation to members of staff of the State Office for the unalloyed support they gave him when he was their Coordinator, and urged them to accord same to the new State Coordinator. In his response, Mr. Abba Chiroma, who spoke on behalf of the of his colleague, thanked the outgoing Coordinator for the tutelage he gave them as his subordinates and expressed their readiness to cooperate with the new helmsman to take the State Office to greater heights.

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF COMPETENCE AND PROFESSORIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN NIGERIA Tunde Akanni PhD

To say that the post-secondary education tier has most tortuously struggled to endure the recent years in Nigeria may amount to an understatement. There’s perhaps no stronger evidence of this than the choice of the theme of the convocation lecture of Modibbo Adama University, Yola delivered Friday, May 12, 2023. Understandably and gratuitously too, the lecture was titled “Nigerian University System and the Public Good”.

It was delivered by a renowned public intellectual and polyglot, Prof Jibrin Ibrahim. The lecturer identified as current major challenges of the university the problem of poor financing crippling universities’ ambition of recruiting and even retaining the services of quality staff, engaging in relevant research as well as providing a conducive atmosphere for learning and research especially with incessant strikes as well as the deepening corrupt practices of the administrators.

This is not to talk of unfathomable sabotage such as relating to the recent strike of the Academic Staff of Universities, ASUU. As I write, there is a backlog of salaries owed members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, who had gone on strike for almost one year owing to sheer insensitivity of the relevant but nebulous authorities.

However, the multi-dimensionsional governance challenges of the higher education, not only universities, remain with us, not even dressed with any cosmetic application. Not a few other sectors are similarly beleaguered but the Buhari team clearly seem overwhelmed with President Buhari himself confessing his eagerness to return to his Daura home. But the King isn’t the state! The in-coming government cannot afford to pretend that it does not envisage a huge work in the higher or tertiary education sector.

The orchestrated government of competence promised by the president-elect, Bola Tinubu, as opposed to the politically favoured government of national unity, must therefore pay attention to the prescriptions of dedicated researchers, if it genuinely seeks to dispense services of competence. Way back in 2020, the higher education czar with inimitable record of service delivery, both as a vice-chancellor and currently as the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, volunteered what appear to be indispensable nuggets.

They are all ignored till date. In line with the global best practices, he had noted that the higher education landscape in Nigeria “requires a total overhaul so that it can effectively achieve the purpose of partaking in the development of the nation”. He specifically argues that the coordinating department for Higher Education at the Federal Ministry of Education falls far short of the current needs for emphasis on research. Like several other countries with proper reckoning for higher education therefore, a Federal Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation should be established to replace the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology which used to be a department in Education Ministry.

Incidentally, another scholar, interestingly of engineering inclination, Prof Idris Bugaje recently noted that it is rather pathetic that the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has not been able to record any serious accomplishment since its inception. Indeed, the tragedy is that the rather idle parastatals under the ministry have been cesspool of corruption with cases of improper promotions and certificate forgeries.

Bugaje who is the incumbent boss of the National Board of Technical Education, NBTE, particularly wonders why Nigeria will deliberately insist on underutilizing its research institutes by not, like Oloyede also notes, deliberately linking them with universities where established researchers are ever readily available to give relevant directions.

Elsewhere Director General of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, NIMR, Prof Tunde Lawal Salako, states that it may probably work better if Nigeria has a clear policy of directing universities too to co-opt and collaborate with research institutes. He regrets that a few times that NIMR, under him, has reached out to some universities has not been successful.

According to him, not only does this retard intellectual and general progress and development, it also denies researchers based at research institutes the opportunity of becoming professors which is the dream of every researcher. Nigeria’s deliberate choice of confusion over the years with regards to tertiary education actually beats logic. You find the government here setting up a number of research institutes yet refusing to connect them with universities whose primary responsibilities should be research administration and governance. Prior to the current statutory responsibilities of the Federal Ministry of Education, the same ministry was referred to as the Federal Ministry of Education Science and Technology only for the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology to be excised yet with no clear mandate in relation to the Higher Education sector.

Higher Education experts including the renowned historian, Ade Ajayi had campaigned rigorously for synergy between Higher Education and Research, and therefore, Federal Ministry of Higher Education and even as the campaign progressed, Federal Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, Technology and Innovation.

Far from this laudable and patriotic moves, the Federal ministry of Science and Technology was created and mandated to coordinate major research institutes, which ironically resort to ad hoc support of university based researchers.

Describing the resultant situation as “…cacophony of tertiary education in Nigeria” Oloyede notes that that there is an awareness among experts in the field of higher education that science and technology are hardly separable and in like manner, higher learning cannot be distinctly compartmentalized into science and humanities.

According to him, the interdependence of different knowledge areas manifests significantly in such disciplines as science education, social sciences, architecture, classics and jurisprudence. To avoid unwarranted schism or dichotomy in the higher education sector especially at the level of the university, Oloyede posits that the nation’s university system would be the better for it if the universities being established by the security agencies, (except three which are highly specialised) are mainstreamed possibly by renaming them and making them run under the umbrella of the relevant ministry like the rest of their counterparts owned by the same government.

On the whole, for clarity of roles and responsibilities and perhaps in the spirit of nomenclatural and allied reforms granted the former Ministry of Communication Technology (adding up Digital Economy and the former Ministry of Aviation (which has added up Aerospace), the education sector deserves no less.

To avoid any likely complication, the JAMB boss further recommends that as a first step, the Federal Ministry of Education can be made to have two separate but coordinated arms, in similitude with Finance, Budget and National Planning, with “one Minister of Education and a Minister of State for Education for each of the: a)Reformed Higher Education, Research and Innovation(current Federal Ministry of Science and Technology); and b)Educational Services, Basic and Secondary Education” Indeed, in line with the spirit of democracy and what some may prefer to label surrender value, Oloyede’s concern is so strong that he feels that, if only for reason of sustainability, “the state governors, the National Council on Education and representatives of each of the political parties as well as labour and major professional associations should be active participants of a national extraordinary assembly on the much desired reactivation of education in Nigeria.

The ball, as they say, is now in the court of the imminent self – proclaimed government of national competence.

CONCENTRATE ON YOUR STUDIES, DARAMOLA ADMONISHES FSS FRESH INTAKES

The Deputy Director, Zonal Matters, Ibadan Zonal Office, Mr. Oladele Daramola, has admonished fresh students of the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, Oyo State, to concentrate on their studies. Mr. Daramola gave the admonition at the sidelines of the 34th Matriculation Ceremony of the institution for the 2022/2023 Academic Session held on Tuesday, 6th June, 2023.

He charged the matriculants to shun all acts that could bring their names and the good image of the school into disrepute. In the same vein, he implored the matriculants to put in their best to achieve their desired goals while congratulating the institution on its track records.

Earlier in her matriculation speech, the Rector, Prof. D.N. OlayinkaDosunmu di sclosed that the institution is the oldest of its kind in the country. “The Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, is the oldest technical institution in Nigeria as it was established in 1908 as a Government Departmental Training Institution attached to the Colonial Survey Department in Lagos for the training of Technical Assistants.” “It later metamorphosed into today’s Federal School of Surveying, offering courses in Computer Science, Surveying and Geoinformatics, Cartography & GIS, Photogrammetry & Remote Sensing,” she stated.

STAFF WELFARE: ABIA STATE COORDINATOR UNVEILS PALLIATIVES FOR STAFF

In its bid to cushion the biting effects of the increase in the pump price of petroleum in the country, the Abia State Office, has announced special incentives and new cost saving measures to cater for the welfare of its staff.

According to the State Coordinator, Mr. Johnson Adebiyi, these incentives were to enhance staff welfare, which is one of the five-point agenda of Prof. Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede on his assumption of office, instituted to offer some reliefs to members of staff in the face of extant challenges. Giving more details of the palliative measures, Mr. Adebiyi stated that the State Office had introduced some cost-saving measures in the transportation of staff to and fro the Office in Umuahia.

He disclosed that the arrangements had significantly brought about a reduction in the transportation cost borne by staff by up to 80% and has positively enhanced their punctuality and attendance at work. He further revealed that this incentive is without prejudice to other palliatives earlier introduced by the State Office to provide a safe and supportive work environment for its staff.

He ascribed the successful implementation of the cost-saving measures to teamwork among members of staff. He also stated that staff are the most valuable assets of any organisation and, as such, the Board would not relent in its efforts to ameliorate the impact of identified challenges.

He, therefore, reiterated the commitment of the Board to continually demonstrate, in practical terms, support for its personnel. Mr. Adebiyi also revealed that arrangements were in top gear to ensure the immediate take-off of the daily activities of the Board at the JAMB PTC, Okoko Item, so as to provide succour to candidates who would not have to go to Umuahia to transact their business with the Board.

According to the State Coordinator, it is the volume of the envisaged traffic to the PTC that had prompted the Board to establish the outpost in the first instance. He added that the PTC is expected to serve candidates from three Local Government Areas of Ohafia, Arochukwu and Bende.

PRIORITISE YOUR HEALTH: NHIA URGES JAMB STAFF

As part of efforts to sensitise relevant stakeholders to its operations, experts from the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) recently paid a working visit to the Ekiti State Office of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in Ado-Ekiti. In his interaction with the staff of the State Office, the Head, Health Insurance Department, Federal Teaching Hospital and representative of the Agency, Ado-Ekiti, Dr. Taiwo Omolayo, urged the staff to take advantage of the benefits derivable from enrolling with the National Health Insurance Agency (NHIA) to access quality health care service for themselves and their families.

He then proceeded to give a comprehensive presentation on how to enrol in the scheme adding that two choices of facilities are available to enrolees. These include 10% payment on all drugs purchased and non-payment for various minor investigative tests like ECG, X-rays and other minor blood tests. He said other benefits include the enrolment of spouses along with four children. Dr. Omolayo, therefore, urged members of staff of the Board to prioritise their health as this will enhance their productivity. Furthermore, Dr. Omotayo listed other benefits to include the provision of quality of health care service to civil servants, attending to heath care challenges as well as strengthening mutual relationship among government agencies and improving health care delivery service nationwide.

In his remarks, the State Ag. Coordinator, Mr. Ebenezer Owolafe, expressed his gratitude to the NHIA team for the visit, and urged members of staff to seek clarification on any grey areas by asking pertinent questions about the scheme to properly understand the operational processes of the Agency. The sensitisation tour ended with a vote of thanks from the Head, S E RVI C O M , M r. Abdu l Rasaq Olarenwaju Bhadmus, who urged staff to embrace the programme.

EXTORTING CANDIDATES UNPARDONABLE – AbdulHameed

The Ogun State Coordinator M r . AbdulHakeem AbdulHameed, has cautioned members of staff as well as partners of the Board, particularly the Computer-Based Test centres operators to eschew the practice of extorting UTME candidates, stressing that the offence is unpardonable and anyone caught in the act would be sanctioned accordingly.

The State Coordinator gave the warning during a meeting he held on Monday, 5th June, 2023, with members of staff of the Ogun State Office in Abeokuta. In his address, Mr. Abdulhameed stated that UTME candidates must always be treated with respect and should not be extorted under whatever guise, adding that extortion is a serious misconduct.

“As you are aware, the Board, under the current leadership, frowns at corruption and other sharp practices in its entirety. As such, anyone caught engaging in any shady deals will be dealt with decisively.” Mr. AbdulHameed also disclosed that the Board had set up a monitoring team to ensure that its candidates are not extorted.