Federal Government has concluded
arrangements to scrap the National
Examination Council.
Plans have also been concluded to
cancel the Unified Tertiary
Matriculation Examination being
conducted by the Joint Admission and
Matriculation Board for applicants into
the nation's tertiary institutions.
JAMB will however not be scrapped.
The government's decisions, which
would be made public soon via a
White Paper, are based on the
recommendations of the Stephen
Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee
on the Rationalisation and
Restructuring of Federal Government
Parastatals, Commissions and
Agencies.
A government source told our
correspondent that the decisions were
part of the recommendations made
by a White Paper Committee set up by
the government on the Oronsaye
report.
The source added that upon receipt
of the latest report, President
Goodluck Jonathan has been meeting
with Vice-President Namadi Sambo
and a few top government officials to
take final decisions on it.
It was in one of such meetings held
on Tuesday that the final decision was
taken.
Under the new arrangement, the
source said in place of UTME,
authorities of all tertiary institutions
would now be at liberty to conduct
their entrance examinations as they
had been doing for post-UTME.
JAMB will however serve as a clearing
house.
"JAMB will now be a clearing house
like Universities and Colleges
Admissions Service in the UK. If
somebody gains admission into three
universities and holds down space,
immediately such person picks his
first choice, JAMB's system will
automatically free the remaining two
slots for other applicants.
"JAMB will no longer conduct
examinations but it will be setting the
standard alongside the schools
authorities," the source said.
UCAS, which was established in 1993,
is the British admission service for
students applying to university and
college, including post-16 education
as of 2012. UCAS is primarily funded
by students who pay a fee when they
apply and a capitation fee from
universities for each student they
accept.
On NECO, the source said in arriving
at the decision to scrap the
examination body, the committee
took into cognizance its huge facilities
across the country.
But it was resolved that the West
African Examination Council would
absorb NECO's members of staff and
its facilities.
WAEC will also be empowered to
conduct two Senior Secondary School
Certificate Examinations per year, one
in January and the other probably in
December.
Hitherto, only one November/
December SSCE Examination is being
conducted.
The May/June Senior Secondary
Certificate Examination being
organised by the examination body
once in a year still stands.
The government source also said
arrangements had been concluded to
scrap the Public Complaint
Commission, the National Poverty
Eradication Programme and the
Institute of Peace and Conflict
Resolution among others.
www.punchng.com

what a good news.

I agree with d suggestion atleast to improve d standard but the monopolistic aspect of it is baffling my mind.