CUT-OFF MARK: MISLEADING, A MISNOMER – JAMB

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has described the term, ‘cutoff mark’ as used in Nigeria, as misleading, and a misnomer, stressing that each tertiary institution sets its own Realistic Institutional Admittable Minimum UTME Scores (RIAMUS).

Prof. Oloyede gave this insight during the 2023 Policy Meeting on Admissions to tertiary institutions in Nigeria, held at Andrews Otutu Obaseki Auditorium, National Judicial Institute, Abuja, on Saturday, 24th June, 2023.

According to the Registrar, the term ‘cut-off mark’ is misleading as there is no unified national cut-off mark, rather what is obtainable is the Realistic Institutional Admittable Minimum UTME Scores (RIAMUS), which is the minimum score that the Senate/Academic Board of each institution has approved for the purpose of admission of its students.

Prof. Oloyede, however, stated that no institution can go below its own selfset RIAMUS and no other institution could use the RIAMUS of another for the purpose of its own admissions because the score is institutionspecific.

Furthermore, the JAMB helmsman disclosed that UTME score does not single-handedly guarantee any candidate admissions to tertiary institutions in the country, as it is only one of the criteria among many others such as five credit passes in five relevant O ‘level subjects, O ‘level subjects grading, post-UTME score and 60:40 Science: Arts ratio, among other criteria as defined by the proprietors of the institutions. In the same vein, the Registrar stated that the National Tolerable Minimum UTME Score (NTMUS) is the score below which no institution in the country will consider any candidate for admission. This, he said, is usually decided at the Policy Meeting not by individual institutions.

He, therefore, said that the NTMUS of 140 for universities, 120 for Polytechnics and 100 for Colleges of Education arrived at by participants does not mean that an institution with RIAMUS of 200 must admit a candidates on the basis of NTMUS of 140;100;100 as the RIAMUS might be equal or higher than the NTMUS.

On the NTMUS for the 2023 Admission exercise, the Policy Meeting resolved on 140 as the minimum score for admissions into universities and 100 respectively for admissions into both Polytechnics and Colleges of Education nationwide.

JAMB A MODEL FOR PUBLIC AGENCIES – PERM SEC, FME

…Says, Admissions Outside CAPS is Null and Void

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education (FME), Mr. Andrew David Adejoh, has charged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to continue to serve as model for other public agencies in terms of transparency, integrity, efficiency and innovation.

The Permanent Secretary stated this while declaring open the 2023 Policy Meeting on Admissions to tertiary institutions in Nigeria held on Saturday, 24th June, 2023, at the National Judicial Institute, Abuja. Mr. Adejoh commended the Board for its numerous groundbreaking achievements in the education sector as well as its modest efforts in promoting and positively projecting the Board as a gateway and clearing house for candidates desirous of tertiary education in the country.

“I called on the Board to continue to serve as a model for public agencies especially in terms of transparency, integrity, and efficiency.” “I congratulate the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, and his Management for the series of initiatives they have brought to bear on the system and the successes recorded over the years.” “JAMB unveiled its innovative technology, the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). Five years after, the platform has revolutionized the admission process and eliminated administrative bottlenecks as specific advisories have been issued to guide stakeholders on the different aspects of the process.

He, therefore, urged all institutions to continue to comply with the various advisories as a matter of regulation. ”It is interesting to note that between last year and now, CAPS has been widened to become, in addition to its original purpose, a secure communication platform between JAMB and each of the Vice Chancellors, Registrars, Admission Officers and Directors of Academic Planning of tertiary institutions.” ”Besides, a counterpart platform, the Integrated Brochure and Syllabus System (IBASS), has also been widened to accommodate safe and personalised communications among the three regulator y agencies, JAMB and the institutions,” he added.

He commended the Board for providing yet another window of opportunity to infractors, who had conducted such illegal admissions outside of CAPS between 2017 and 2020 through its ‘Condonement of Undisclosed Illegal Institutional Admissions (CUIIA) platform. According to the Permanent Secretary, the Board had been directed not to entertain any condonement beyond the 2020 Admissions and called on all institutions to abide by the guidelines stipulated in the admission process. He declared that any admission found to have been issued to any student outside CAPS is null and void and would henceforth attract the strictest of sanctions irrespective of the status of the violators.

BOYD: A NOVEL INITIATIVE FOR PROMPT AND EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is set f or another landmark achievement in the magnitude of its epochal migration from Paper-Pencil Testing (PPT) to Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for a more efficient testing regime through its proposed ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) initiative.

This was disclosed by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, in his address during the 2023 Policy Meeting on Admissions to tertiary institutions in Nigeria, held at Andrews Otutu Obaseki Auditorium, National Judicial Institute, Abuja, on Saturday, 24th June, 2023.

According to the Registrar, the initiative is aimed at providing a cost-effective solution to the burgeoning cost of administering the annual Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), noting that the humongous expenses that go into the exercise yearly would be cut down drastically.

Prof. Oloyede also stated that the initiative would obviate the need for constant replacement of hardware and software occasioned by excessive use.

Furthermore, the Registrar stated that the initiative would be a great boost to digital literacy, as candidates would have been familiar with their own gadgets before using them to take the UTME, as such, technophobia, one of the leading factors responsible for candidates’ low performance in etesting would be curtailed.

“Going forward, JAMB would, in due course, be rolling out BYOD through which candidates would not only be able to use their telephones to take our examination with ease but would also lower capital investment by the Board and its partners as well as be of great help to digital literacy.”

Furthermore, he stated that the Board was not unaware of the potential of the initiative to exacerbate digital examination malpractice, and as such disclosed the plans of the Board to establish a mobile examination malpractice tribunal to deal with the criminal aspect while institutions would handle that of misconduct.

“We shall, in addition, be partnering with security operatives and other relevant agencies on cybercrimes to deal with the perpetrators. We shall also be engaging these merchants of examination fraud to tap from their knowledge.” In his concluding remarks, the Registrar disclosed that the Board is also perfecting plans to adopt Open Book Examination (OPE) to further discourage cheating.

ANY ADMISSION NOT PROCESSED ON CAPS REMAINS ILLEGAL – JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has stated that any tertiary institution still processing admissions outside the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), is doing so at its own risk, stressing that any admission not processed on CAPS is illegal.

The Jigawa State Coordinator, Mr. Bello Aminu, disclosed this in his office in Dutse on Monday, 19th June, 2023, when he played host to the Registrar, Jigawa State Collage of Advanced and Remedial Studies (JICORAS), Dr. Rabiu Saleh Kazaure. Earlier in his address, Dr. Kazaure said he had visited the office to seek clarifications on some grey areas on the admission procedures into tertiary institutions in the country.

In his remarks, the State Coordinator welcomed the Registrar and urged him to ensure that his institution adhere strictly to all extant policy guidelines on admissions, adding that JAMB had prohibited condonement of illegitimate admissions since 2021.

The Registrar, while pledging the readiness of his school to comply with all admission guidelines, commended the Board for its efforts at ensuring fairness in the admission value chain across tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

MUHAMMAD BUHARI PTC: PERFECT FACILITY FOR TRCN – TRCN

…UBEC, NBTE, Others Partner JAMB

The recently-commissioned Muhammad Buhari 1000- seater mega Professional Testing Centre (PTC) has been described as a perfect facility for the conduct of the examinations for the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TCRN), the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE)among others.

These are aside other agencies, currently holding talks with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on the usage of the facility for their training, recruitment and promotion examinations exercises.

The Registrar, TRCN, Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, who was accompanied by Head of Certification and Liaison, TRCN, Mrs. Lawson Babale, took a facility tour of the mega edifice on Monday, 19th June, 2023, and expressed his satisfaction with the state-of-the-art facilities at the centres noting that the centre was perfect for the administration of TRCN qualifying examinations.

The TRCN boss also pointed out that the visit was in fulfilment of the Council’s determination to professionalize the teaching profession in Nigeria.

He, therefore, reiterated his commitment to the mandate of the Council in terms of standardising the teaching profession in Nigeria.

According to him, the Council has the peculiar functions of providing the best and most well-trained teachers to man the Nigerian educational institutions.

He also noted that in achieving this mandate, the Council ensures that intending persons wishing to practice the teaching profession in Nigeria sit a qualifying examination conducted by the TRCN.

The Muhammadu Buhari PTC consists of four distinct fullyequipped, Professional Test Centres with combined seats of one thousand, one hundred (1,100), four well-equipped Holding Halls with acumulative capacity of one thousand (1000) seats , four Professional Registration Centres (Biometric/Prometric Centres) capable of processing 40 registrants simultaneously, four fully-equipped Control/Server Rooms, a 500 KVA generator supplemented by additional 8 units of 9KVA generators, 500 KVA dedicated transformer, 10KVA solar facilities to serve as alternative independent power source, 100 Extra Systems as we as other accessories for the use of the centre.

In the same vein, UBEC, NBTE and other agencies have also visited the MBPTC shortly after its commissioning to assess the facility, adjudged the biggest in Africa, to advance the institutional mandates of their respective organisations.

ADMISSIONS: NUCLEUS OF THE BOND BETWEEN JAMB AND TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA – JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has stated that the bond between the Board and tertiary institutions in Nigeria is admissions. This was disclosed by the Ogun State Coordinator, Mr. AbdulHakeem AbdulHameed, when he received the duo of the Vice Chancellors, Aletheia University, Ago Iwoye, Prof. Amos Onasanya; and the Vice Chancel lor, Gerard University of Medical Sciences, Imope-Ijebu, Prof. Niran Adetoro, in his office on Wednesday, 21st June, 2023.

Earlier in their address, the Vice Chancellors said that they had paid the visit to familiarise themselves with the operations of the Board in the State. In his remarks, the State Coordinator under scored the symbiotic relationship between the Board and Nigerian tertiary institutions, stressing that the common denominator is admission.

He, therefore, stated that the Board would not tolerate any act that would undermine the fabric of this relationship from whatever quarters. He urged the visiting Heads to sustain the cordial relationship not only with the Board but also with other regulatory agencies for effective service delivery.

NAEAP VISITS JAMB

A call has gone to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to partner with the Nigerian Association for Educational Administration and Planning (NAEAP), towards taking the educational sector to greater heights. This was contained in the message of the NAEAP State Coordinator, Akwa Ibom State Branch, Dr. Princewill Egwuasi, when he led his team to the Board’s State Office, Akwa Ibom, on Tuesday, 20th June, 2023.

In his interaction with members of staff of the State Office, Dr. Egwuasi applauded the efforts of the Registrar, JAMB, Prof. Is-haq O. Oloyede, especially with respect to his outstanding achievements since his inception of office. He also expressed gratitude to the State Government for the new office accommodation donated to JAMB. Dr. Egwuasi disclosed that, the Association has been in existence for over four decades with the primary objective of promoting excellence in the theory and practice of educational administration at all levels, particularly among academics and practitioners of educational administration and planning in the country.

Furthermore, he stated that the body had been in the vanguard of promoting robust collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Education, educational parastatals, tertiary institutions and other relevant educational bodies over the years.

He said it was in recognition of the Board’s immense contributions to the growth of the education sector over the years that the Association had deemed a partnership with the Board as highly imperative. Inherresponse, the State Coordinator, Mrs. Grace OlimaWilliams, on behalf of the Registrar, Prof. Oloyede, expressed appreciation to the leadership of the Association for its kind words and expressed the readiness of the Board to enter into a mutuallybeneficial relationship with the body towards realizing the developmental aspirations of the country.

DIRECTOR, LAGOS ANNEX WARNS AGAINST MALPRACTICE AS LASU HOLDS 2022/2023 MATRICULATION

The Ag. Director, National Headquarters Annex, Lagos, Mr. Shittu Biiliaminu, has advised the newly – matriculated students of the Lagos State University, Ojo, to shun all forms of examination malpractices. Mr. Biliaminu made this appeal while addressing the matriculating students of the institution recently.

According to Mr. Biliaminu, examination malpractice is evil and is capable of shattering their dreams of becoming leaders of tomorrow. He, therefore, enjoined the students to be truthful in all they do as that remains the surest path to success.

In her speech, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji Bello, disclosed that 10,301 students were to be matriculated that day out of over 40,000 that applied to the University. She, therefore, informed them to count themselves fortunate to be among the chosen ones.

Further in her remarks, she encouraged the students to maintain good academic standing stating that the institution had made provision for the refund of fifty percent of school fees for students who maintain a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.5 each session.

The Vice Chancellor similarly reiterated the importance that the institution attached to character development of its students. She also stated that the institution had zero tolerance for sexual and gender-based violence.

“Do not keep silent when you are harassed or assaulted in any manner. If you see something, say something. Show respect to your col leagues and staff in the institution to make your stay in the here successful and productive,” she said.

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, interes tingl y 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.