Comments
Prof Is'haq O. Oloyede
Question: The decision to reduce the cut-off mark to 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics has met with criticism from many quarters. It seems it is not a popular decision.
Oloyede responds: You see, the issue is that people who are not familiar with a matter, rather than keeping their peace, will be commenting on things that they know little about. Our examination is not an achievement test. It is not a qualifying examination; rather, it is a ranking examination. Anybody that we want to admit into the university must basically have his five credits. It is not JAMB that qualifies them. But, because we don’t have space for all of them, we decide to rank them. What we had been doing was to ensure that nobody who scored less than 200 had a chance. But, this year, we are saying that anybody who scores up to 120 has a chance. With 200, we have never filled our quota in the last 10 years. Some of those who scored over 200 do not have five credits in their O level results.
And you cannot be admitted if you don’t have five credits. Those who are talking have not even dissected the problem, yet they are making recommendations. Other agencies all over the world, like the UKEAS in the United Kingdom, also rank candidates. Some of them do not even conduct any examination. Our examination is not a qualifying examination, it is a ranking examination. What that means is that you can’t admit anybody unless he is qualified. What qualifies an individual is the O level, not the UTME. The children of those who are objecting to this decision go to the UK to study. Do they write the UTME there? They are unfair to the common man who has not stolen money to study in Ghana and the UK. It is part of a class war that the poor man must be kept under.
This is a ranking examination and this is a decision of all vice-chancellors, provosts and rectors. Commentators cannot claim to know more than these people do because they are commenting out of ignorance. If you have 10 spaces and five of your children are qualified, then you look for a way of ranking them. You can use age. It does not mean that the number six child is not qualified. But, because he came sixth, then you take the first five.
And you can decide on three male children and two female children. So, the fourth male child will not say that you are unfair because there is a parameter. So, our examination is for ranking purposes. We want to rank all qualified candidates and what makes them qualified is the O level. As I speak with you, there was no time in the last 10 years that we have filled 70 per cent of the quota. The colleges of education and polytechnics are there doing nothing. And they kept on admitting students under the table. We are saying no more under-the-table deals. Come and tell us what you are doing under the table and let us see it. But people are commenting on matters that that they are not familiar with.