FG Overrules JAMB On Admission Policy As ASUU Says JAMB Has Become Promoters Of Private Varsities

Mr. MacJohn ‎Nwaobiala, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education

The Federal Government has overruled the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on its new admission policy that recently sparked protests in parts of the country.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mr. MacJohn ‎Nwaobiala‎, disclosed this to State House correspondents on Tuesday after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari of his ministry’s activities and challenges at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. JAMB, had at its 2015 Combined Policy Meeting adopted a policy, whereby candidates of universities with surplus applicants for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations are reassigned to other universities with lower number of applicants than their capacities.

The Punch report continues:

Protest started at the University of Lagos when the institution’s authorities announced that only candidates whose names were officially forwarded by JAMB are eligible to participate in the institution’s Post-UTME.

Nwaobiala told reporters that the decision was jointly taken at a stakeholders’ meeting that had parents and others in attendance.

He said because of the dust raised by the development, the Federal Government had commenced consultation with the aim of identifying where adjustments could be made.

He however said students that made the cut off marks had been directed to go and write post-UTME examinations in their schools of first choice since that was the bone of contention.

Nwaobiala said, “This JAMB thing has been there. As the policy making body, when these issues were raised, they raised in a stakeholders meeting. We normally have what we call the policy meeting. Everything about admission are discussed with parents and other stakeholders at the meeting.

“These are decisions that we collectively took. However, we have a listening ear. We have taken a lot of the issues raised into consideration and we are consulting to see the adjustments we can make here and there.

“The directive has been given. All the students that made the cut off marks have been told to go and write post-UTME examinations in their schools of first choice. After, they can go to their schools of second choice. That has been the bone of contention.”

On the threat by the West African Examinations Council to withhold the results of candidates in 19 states who wrote the May/June 2015 WASSCE following unpaid examination fees by the state governments, Nwaobiala appealed to states to fulfill their promises.

“The Head of WAEC has briefed me about it. It is so sad. States pledged to pay on behalf of these students and WAEC took them on based on the pledge.

“Now when it comes to the time to pay, it becomes a challenge.

“We will appeal to the states to see this as very important. A promise to a child is very important and it must be implemented,” he said.

Nwaobiala also said that at the meeting with Buhari, the President frowned on some state governments who had failed to pay teachers salaries for months.

He said the President observed that the situation was not good for the nation’s education sector.

“The President raised the issue of non-payment of teachers’ salaries in some states. He felt it is something that is very unfair. Do you prefer your people to be ignorant?

“Some teachers have not been paid for six months in some states, some have not been paid for one year. The President felt very concerned about that,” he added.

Nwaobiala also told reporters that Buhari also expressed concern over the poor rating of Nigerian universities among their peers around the world.

He however said his team explained to the President that some of the ratings were misinterpreted ‎as the rating of Nigerian universities had actually improved.

The Permanent Secretary identified one of the major challenges of the ministry to include the return of school children displaced by terrorist activities in the country, while getting more children into school.

JAMB Has Become Promoters Of Private Varsities – ASUU

Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Ibadan chapter, Prof. Segun Ajiboye, has alleged that investors in private universities are using the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board to promote their schools.

Ajiboye, who spoke in Ibadan on Tuesday on the re-allocation of candidates by JAMB to ‘needy’ institutions, said JAMB relevance had been undermined when universities in Nigeria began to decide the student they could admit through the post-UTME tests.

He added that JAMB lacked the constitutional right to decide which school a candidate would go, stressing that the body could not be relied on for credible admission process because of its present admission policy.

He said, “It is sad that JAMB has suddenly become promoters of private university by imposing an unpopular policy on the preferences and choices of Nigerian youths.

“JAMB lacks the power to change the rules of admission in the middle of the process after deceiving candidates to pick universities, polytechnics and colleges of education as options when it sold out forms to them.

“JAMB’s concept of ‘needy’ institutions needs deconstruction here. Needy universities are basically private universities in Nigeria that charge exorbitant fees with less than required manpower.
“In the 2015 UTME applications, 15,000 of the close to 1,436,837m candidates sought admission into 48 private universities. If not doing the bidding of private universities, JAMB ought to be open with his policy from the point of sale of the forms. JAMB must tell us how many public universities are under-subscribed.”