I do solemnly promise that this article is not a vendetta or a rant but an expression (without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion) of the mind of the majority of Nigerians. The minds of the younger ones that have had sleep taken away from their eyes for very many nights in the name of preparing for UTME, and still don’t have anything to show for it. I will also suggest possible solutions to this issue, so that the people that are on the other side of this matter will not think somebody is just trying to start wailing. So help me God. Amen.
As at 1977 when there were only thirteen universities in Nigeria, each of those universities conducted its own matriculation examinations, and offered provisional admissions to deserving candidates independently. As far as many Nigerians then and now are concerned, the selection process was quite okay. At least it was fair enough; the people that were interested in any of those Universities just had to apply, write the examination, and if you are really good, admission is sure. But in 1978, the then Federal Military Government led by General Olusegun Obasanjo thought it was better to set up a body to conduct joint or unified matriculation examinations into these thirteen universities in Nigeria, so they set up the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Most Nigerians liked the idea. In August of 1988, which was during Major General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s tenure as the Military Head of State, the decree was further strengthened to empower the body to conduct matriculation examinations for entry into all polytechnics and colleges of education, to place qualified candidates into the available places in these institutions. Again, Nigerians do not see anything wrong with that.
Today in this Country, there are almost 300 accredited tertiary institutions, and the same body is still responsible for conducting matriculation examinations into these institutions. What we need to consider is how well the body has been fulfilling the purpose for which it was created.
The way the Nigerian educational system has been structured, UTME has become most young people’s official baptism into the Nigerian Society. From nursery, through primary, to secondary school, most of their exams are internal, having the regular faces of their teachers and school management team around. Even during the Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations, they see the same faces, only plus one or two external invigilators. The UTME is supposed to be an avenue for the “leaders of tomorrow” to truly test their knowledge, to learn transparency, to learn the real values of hard work, and for confidence in the society and system to be built in them. But no, I do not think that JAMB is currently achieving that. These young people now think that in Nigeria, it is not hard work that pays; that there is little or no reward for it. I mean, what shall it profit a man to read hard- spending time to burn the midnight candle, and at the end not be given the result that he deserves? These young people now see alternatives to hard work, depending on bribery and corruption; this has made the interest of the Nigerian youth in learning, to be in a very critical condition. Parents that can afford it are taking foreign exchange out of this country to send their children to universities outside this country, even countries like the Republic of Benin and Togo. This is a big problem that will seriously affect the future of our dear Nigeria if something drastic is not done about it. I personally, think that the best time to even tackle the issue is now-this era of change, where government is making efforts to eliminate corruption- this beast that has finished having a good meal on today, and is taking large bites on the tomorrow of Nigeria.
Let us now consider the most recent UTME that was conducted, the one that made one young man who applied for a course in the University of Lagos almost commit suicide. He had written UTME in 2015, scoring 215, but this year, with more preparation and experience, made a “wonderful” score of 160.
By the time the examinations were concluded on March 14 2016, I started hearing strange things like JAMB dashing people forty marks across board, and I was wondering, “Where does that happen?” I found out that the reason for the additional 40 marks is because the marks that were awarded were not the real scores of those candidates. I also discovered that the challenges that rubbished the efforts of JAMB in conducting this year’s computer- based examinations were: system failure at the examination centers, questions with no answers, and in very many cases, candidates being assigned different centers from where their examinations were to hold.
The problems start from accreditation of the centers. For next time, JAMB should do more in making sure that they properly monitor the centers that they accredit. You won’t believe that some greedy people, maybe relatives of Top JAMB officials just got a venue, borrowed computers from friends and family, and then invited JAMB to come and accredit them. Which they did! Then during the period of the examinations, systems were just coming on and off like Christmas lights in centers that were accredited by JAMB to play a big role in deciding the academic fate of young people. Too bad!
JAMB should teach these young people honesty by example. Come out and publicly admit that this year’s examinations were a complete failure, and teach “our tomorrow leaders” the importance of excellence, by re-conducting the examination nationwide. We really don’t mind if they return to the use of OMR sheets this time, as long as they give these candidates what they truly deserve.
I believe JAMB can learn from the way SAT and Test of English as a Foreign Language, TOEFL examinations are conducted. Like these exams, candidates can write JAMB within a full month or more, choosing their date and time within the year. Scores can be valid for at least two years and the scores from the exam, reported to two universities of their choices. We can include two polytechnics and two colleges of education each. This will reduce to a very large extent the pressure that comes from the population that tries to write the examination within a short period every year. It might also be considered expensive, but definitely not as expensive as the repercussion of letting this current problem to linger on.
Well, just this little advice from me to the government before they go ahead to do only one of either unbundling, restructuring or privatizing JAMB: they look seriously into this situation, and let a positive change to be made in our educational sector. This sector should be the pilot sector for the change agenda of the present administration. We all know what happens to a child that does not allow the mother to sleep, but we can never be able to imagine what happens to a mother that does not allow her children to sleep.

http://omojuwa.com/2016/04/gideon-j-okuazun-jamb-the-mother-that-wont-let-her-child-sleep/

nice write up ........