Following JAMB directive for admission into Tertiary Institutions for 2015/2016 Academic Session, the University of Calabar, called on candidates who chose the institution as their first choice in the 2015 UTME exams, and meet the required cut-off point for various Departments in the institutions.

The Exam Governing Body (JAMB), also introduced a policy which increased the cut-off point from 180 to 200 and above; that automatically disqualified students from their preferred choice of institutions.

The policy met stiff rejection, complaints and protests from Jambites and their parents. Though the policy was later reversed by JAMB.

My major concern here is the post-UTME registration fee for candidates who qualified to seat for the examination following a cut-off point of 180 and above for all Departments in the institution with exception of Medicine & Surgery and Law which were placed at 200 respectively.

According to statistics released by JAMB, about 27,000 candidates chose UNICAL as their first choice of institution. Since candidates scored high in this year’s UTME, then no fewer than 15,000 candidates applied for the 2015/2016 post-UTME in UNICAL.

The sale of post-UTME form was put at an outrageous sum of N6,500. In an attempt to justify this despicable act, the institution deceived the general public that the Post-UTME will be CBT (Computer Based Test). JAMB used same to conduct her nationwide examination and sold the form for N4,500.

It can be recalled that, this same extortion of Admission Seeking Students (Jambites) by tertiary institutions in the guise of Post-UTME or Aptitude Test, generated a heated debate in the national polity in 2011/2012, and the issue was deliberated upon on the floor of the National Assembly, with a resolution that no institution should charge candidates more than N1,500 to purchase the post-UTME/Aptitude Test forms.

Most Federal Institutions in the country like ABU, UNIJOS, BUK etc. have adhered to this directive. But the case of University of Calabar (UNICAL) keeps increasing without any justifiable reason. No wonder the institution is fondly referred to as ‘UNICASH’ by her students and other members of the public who are aware of their extortionist characteristic.

Over 15,000 students (Jambites) paid this amount to register for the Aptitude Test which took place on the 24th and 25th of August, 2015. To the greatest surprise of Jambites and their parents who accompanied their wards to the institution for the scheduled exam from various parts of the country, the examination was the traditional Paper/Pencil format (NO CBT as promised), conducted in dilapidated venues (class rooms), with uncomfortable writing desks and wrong time management system.

The poor arrangement made most candidates to miss their examination venues, since it was not in their Aptitude Test Slips which cost them a whooping sum of N6,500 to obtain.

This tradition of extortion by the institution has continued for a long time, with the University Governing and Regulatory Bodies keeping mute and paying deaf ears to complaints from the public, which make us to ask if the governing and regulatory bodies are part of the ungodly act of extortion in the University or they are just not ready to carry-out their statutory responsibility.

The Nigeria University Commission (NUC) and other university governing bodies in the country need to speak-out; or maybe critics of these bodies were right for holding that, “the best action from these bodies is to do NOTHING”.

On the 31st of August, 2015, candidates who succeeded to seat for the examination despite the cost, were excited to hear that the post-UTME results had been released.

But their happiness was cut-short when they were directed to pay another sum of N1,100 to purchase the ‘result checking scratch card’ from designated banks. Now if our mathematics is correct, the form cost N6,500 and for candidate to see their result, another N1,100 was demanded from them by the institution, amounting to a total of N7,600 from over 15,000 candidates (Jambites).

With an inscription on the result checking site which reads: “This is NOT an Admission Letter, it is JUST a statement of result”.

What in God’s name will you call that if not theft? The general public should note that, carrying capacity of the University is less than 5,000 excluding students from Pre-Degree and Diploma Programs which the University runs.

The admitted candidates in the last academic session were asked to pay N15,000.00 acceptance fee; while those before them paid N10,000 each, therefore, this set of Jambites who will succeeded should expect to pay N20,000 or N25,000.

The Management was quoted last session when this issue was brought forward, as saying that, “Acceptance Fee is for the benefit of the new students”. Like any lies, those benefits are yet to be made manifest; since less than 5% of the present year one students only got bed spaces (Hostel Accommodation) two weeks before their first semester examination, meaning they spent over three months on the streets of Calabar attending lectures; with another payment of about N7,000 to gain access to such bed space.

Their class rooms are still in poor conditions with little or no implements to aid their studies. The institution also charges students about N50,000 for school charges while other Federal Universities pay less than N20,000 and UNICAL demanding such amount from her students is simply despicable.

This is also a call on our anti-graft agencies like the EFCC and ICPC to seat-up and do their work, instead of chasing politicians about who are simply smarter than them.

source: http://crossriverwatch.com/2015/09/university-of-calabar-and-extortion-of-jambites-by-paul-eje-daniel/

Hmmm this is serious increasing by year, Maybe in the year 2020 post ume form will be up to 30,000 in price

Lets keep our hands cross.

I think their acceptance fee is ok in regards to the 40k FUTA collects. Can you imagine 40k for acceptance fee. Government should look into this issue ASAP.