I believe we all cannot just sit back and watch the Professor Dibu Oderinde-led JAMB destroy our lives and that of our children, siblings, neighbors, relatives, friends, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends, friends of friends of friends of friends and enemies. (The enemy part is open to dispute but let's pretend we're okay with it).

In the past, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination was divided into two: Universities Matriculation Examinations (UME), for admission into universities and the Monotechnics Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Matriculation Examinations (MPCE), for admission into polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education. Back then, students had the option of choosing three different universities in the UME. I don't know how many institutions one could choose in MPCE (popularly called poly-JAMB) but I guess it was between three and six. In other words, students had the opportunity of gaining admission into six or nine institutions, depending on the number of schools MPCE accepts.

In 2010, JAMB merged both examinations, claiming the move was necessary to streamline the process and remove the B.Sc-HND disparity. The result was the University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) which allowed students choose six schools: two universities, two polytechnics/monotechnics and two colleges of education.

Last year, JAMB came up with a new policy allowing students to choose only four schools: one university, one polytechnic/monotechnic, one college of education and one computer school. As if limiting students admission prospects isn't enough, JAMB began reposting students to schools they did not choose just because the students did not meet the cutoff marks for their courses (according to them) and they did not want schools to start "exploiting" them (the students) by making them buy post-utme forms for courses they definitely won't be picked for.

Now, there are three issues here: the cutoff mark, the post UTME and the change of course/institution.

Firstly, the issue of cutoff mark is not a valid excuse to change a students' school. Many schools allow students to change their course if they did not meet the cutoff mark. Besides, most schools move students to another course if they did not fit into a particular course or if that course already has a maximum number of students. So this excuse is a no-brainer; for dummies only. Next!

Secondly, who is Professor Dibu and his scandalous and corruption filled JAMB to say he does not want schools exploiting students? In case he has forgotten, students paid 5,000 naira for the JAMB exam. For comparison, universities charge between 1,000 and 2,000 naira (including bank charges) for their posr-UTME exams.

Professor Dibu-led JAMB happily collected money for the UTME and now, that same Professor Dibu is claiming he does not want schools to exploit students; and the best way he can stop the "exploitation" is by forcing private institutions and maybe some other unknown or expensive state schools down people's throats? Wise people in the house, who's the thief? Who's exploiting who? And who's the mumu?

Thirdly, JAMB has traditionally allowed students to change their course and institution long after the JAMB exams, on why can't they leave students who are willing to change change by themselves? Why must they change for them?
Some schools also allow students write their post-JAMB even if the students did not choose them, so what are we saying?

If truly Prof Dibu is fighting for the students (as he wants to make us believe), why can't he allow students to do a change of course or institution free-off-charge? Or is that not a form of help?

Or has he been bribed by the private and state institutions? Was this his plan all along? From reducing the number of schools a student can apply to and then systematically posting (or reposting) them to other schools? Common! This isn't NYSC.

Mr Dibu should realize that students choose schools for particular reasons. Distance, school fees, school familiarity, prestige, tribe, dialect, popularity, standard of teaching, academic calendar and cost of living are few of the reasons. By the time students are taken to schools with unaffordable school fees, won't they still lose the admission? Or when they end up in schools in faraway places or with a terrible calendar, would they be happy? Most won't even go and even when they do, they see it as a stop-gap and they rewrite another JAMB exam just to leave.

Left to me, I believe Prof Dibu is playing a script for some private and little known institutions that need more students. JAMB itself really needs to be cleaned up. Prof Dibu had done enough. He should step down and give more competent people who know what they're doing the chance to perform. Apart from introducing Computer Based Tests and one nonsense Dibu Based Test he ironically named after himself, what other positive achievement does he have in JAMB? Someone needs to talk sense into his head. Students do not need his so called "help." He should leave them alone. 5,000 naira multiplied by more than one million students is no small amount. JAMB is an examination, not a lottery.

Last bullet: PROFESSOR DIBU ODERINDE, LET STUDENTS CHOOSE THEIR SCHOOLS

Cc: Ishilove Lalasticlala

Ok

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Harvard, Oxford or Reading university. And after choosing who bear the cost?