Scrap JAMB,UTME, retain NECO

News that Nigerian government is planning to cancel two of its major examinations-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and the National Examination Council is welcoming on one hand and calls for caution on the other.

Welcoming, because if implemented, it will curb the excesses of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board which has held candidates seeking university education by the jugular for a long time.

For years, JAMB has been the only authorised body conducting examination into the nation’s universities and polytechnics.

Every year, at least 1.5million candidates patronise JAMB and of this figure, less than 250,000 eventually secure admission. Yet, each of the 1.5 million candidates pays an average of N5, 000 [about $34] to buy a form.

Aside this, candidates are expected to pay all kinds of sundry charges including buying scratch cards for checking their results and scratch cards for printing their admission letters.

Yet, the exam process was at a stage so compromised that universities lost confidence in it and pushed for a post UTME, a move which though JAMB vigorously rejected, went through all the same.

Of course, this is also at an extra cost to candidates who have to buy forms from the respective universities of their choice and still pay for the Post UTME exam. So you find candidates going through tortuous processes to secure admission to either a university or polytechnic.

These are some of the reasons why plans to cancel UTME and leave universities to select their candidates on their own is a welcome development. However, I have reservations about the fact that JAMB as a body would still be in charge of clearing candidates for universities. That seems to me that JAMB will still be milking its candidates dry but through other means.

According to reports, under the new arrangement, authorities of all tertiary institutions will now be at liberty to conduct their entrance examinations as they have been doing for post-UTME. JAMB will however serve as a clearing house. Though JAMB will no longer conduct examinations, it will still be setting the standard alongside the schools authorities.

JAMB will be a clearing house like Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) in UK. If somebody gains admission into three universities and hold down space, immediately such person picks his first choice, JAMB’s system will automatically free the remaining two slots for other applicants.

I think government should scrap JAMB outright and allow candidates to apply to the universities directly. A few things are likely to happen if this is done.

One, each university is likely to put in place a process that will ensure it attracts the best of brains since universities will be rated by the quality of their products. Two, the current multiple costs of securing university admission will be scrapped and third, the torture candidates are forced to endure in a bid to compete for a limited space in available institutions will be lessened.

As for NECO, I think scrapping the body is taking us back to the old system where the West African Examination Council was the sole exam body in the country. It is a known fact that monopoly stifles competition. Rather than encourage monopoly, government should create a conducive environment for competitive examination bodies and allow students to make a choice. Government should think of making NECO work better than scrapping it.