Reps speak on scraping of post UTME/JAMB

The Houcountry’sresentatives were divided on Wednesday on the motion to stop the exams of the Post-Unification Tertiary Examination Examination (UTME) and the Joint Admission Enrollment Board (JAMB) in the country’s top institutions.
Latest Nigeria newspaper report that in a motion presented by Representative Ademorin Kuye (APC-Lagos), during the plenary session, legislators debated for and against the requirements of the action.
Kuye, in the motion, had asked the house to urge all higher institutions to stop post-UTME / JAMB screening tests.
He also searched the house to order the Committee on Tertiary Education and Services to convene a joint meeting of the Ministry of Education, JAMB, and the National Commission of Universities (NUC).
The mandate was to develop an acceptable standard of JAMB exams by the requirements of the country’s academic institutions.
The legislator said that JAMB, which was established in 1978, had the responsibility of conducting enrollment exams to enter tertiary institutions.
He argued that Nigerians paid money to buy the JAMB / UTME forms to qualify them to write the exams and obtain admission to the higher institutions of their choice.
“This is after the payments and the rigorous registration and examination processes; these higher institutions subject the students to another internal exam/test called POST UTME / JAMB for the payment of another fee without any consideration for the parents and destitute students,” said.
He said that the payment of the fees for the selection exercise carried out by the institutions “was not supported by any law and, therefore, the income is not accounted for.”
“This leaves room for manipulation and exploitation and the lack of acceptability of the generated fund.”
Supporting the motion, Representative Benjamin Chinedu Obidigwe (APGA-Anambra) said that the post-UTME examinations conducted by universities were only to “expel our children.”
“Our education in the country has solved some form of extortion.
“The universities corner the funds of the evaluation exercises because they did not take into account such income during their budget defense.
“Post UTME has no educational value for our system. I hope the committee will examine it to end it.
Representative Benjamin Kalu (APC-Abia) also said that it was necessary to stop conducting such exams because universities could not account for the use of the funds.
Kalu also said that the completion of the post-UTME test by schools was “throwing criticism on the integrity of JAMB.”
“Okay, there are leaks, but JAMB has to sit down. What we have about the seas are interviews.
“When you pass the exams, you are invited to an interview, and not the way JAMB is doing it here.”
Speaking against the motion, Representative Samuel Chinedu (PDP-Anambra) said that the post-UTME / JAMB exams complemented the actual JAMB exams.
“All they do is verify what JAMB has done. Admitting students who are not properly reviewed is worse than the financial implications,” he said.
Also speaking against the test, Representative Aniekan Umanah (PDP-Akwa Ibom) said that universities were “exploiting internal leaks of what JAMB is doing.”
“It is necessary that this motion is reviewed so that we can have common ground.”
However, the house resolved that the Tertiary Education and Services Committee interacts with JAMB about the conduct of the UTME / JAMB position by the higher institutions and reports within four weeks.