Post Utme Will Be Cancelled?

No more Post

Post-Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examinations
(UTME), will no longer be
required as a pre-condition to
gaining admission into Nigerian
universities.
This was the decision of the
Federal Government and
stakeholders in education sector,
Thursday.


Also, cut off marks for the 2016
admission into universities,
polytechnics, colleges of
education, was pegged at 180.
These decisions were reached at
the 2016 Combined Policy
Meeting on Admissions to
Universities, Polytechnics and
other higher institutions in
Nigeria, which held in Abuja on
Thursday.


The Minister of Education ,
Malam Adamu Adamu, while
declaring open the meeting,
argued that if there was absolute
confidence in the Joint
Admissions and Matriculation
Board, there should be no need
for universities to conduct
internal examinations to
determine the fate of candidates
seeking admissions.
He said: “As far as I am
concerned, the nation has
confidence in what JAMB is doing,
the universities should not be
holding another examinations and
if the universities have any
complain against JAMB, let them
bring it and then we address it.
“But if JAMB is qualified enough
to conduct tests and they have
conducted test, then there will be
no need to conduct another test
for students to gain admission.”


According to Adamu, “Our
universities shouldn’t be
conducting another examination;
if they have any complaint against
JAMB, they should come to the
Ministry of Education and we will
look into it.


“If JAMB is qualified to conduct
the computer-based test and they
are conducting the test, then
there should be no need for
students to sit another
examination to get admission
“As far as I am concerned JAMB
has built a level of confidence in
terms of conducting the UTME. A
situation where universities go
and conduct other examinations
is unnecessary.”


The Minister spoke in reaction to
a protest by a group of students
numbering about 20 at the venue
of the meeting.
The protesters who blocked the
entrance of the NUC office called
on the government, National
Assembly and other major
stakeholders to put an end to the
conduct of Post-UTME.
Adamu also ordered JAMB to stop
extra charges for change of
course, change of school, among
others.


The Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Education, Dr.
Folashade Yemi Esan, also
reechoed Adamu’s position saying
the decision to scrap Post-UTME
was unanimously agreed by
stakeholders at the meeting.