₦airaland Forum

I came across multiple reports of students being asked to attend a public examination by 6:30 AM, teenagers, mostly around 15-17 years old, forced to travel in the dark, even in the face of insecurity, across dangerous and unfamiliar locations, because they want to get the basic right of education and sit for JAMB examinations.

Setting exams for vulnerable teenagers as early as 6:00 AM while transporting them across far-flung locations is reckless.

Already, reports are emerging of students getting into accidents and losing their young lives, some going missing, and many more being subjected to unnecessary trauma. Who takes responsibility when a 15- or 16-year-old child disappears or is harmed while trying to access their right to education?

This situation sadly exposes a deeper, systemic failure: Nigeria simply does not have enough universities and exam centres to cater to its youth.
Today, Nigeria has just about 200 universities for a population of over 200 million people. That alone means one university for every one million citizens, a very disturbing and staggering ratio that shows the dilapidated level of the country’s access to education.

According to the data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and IndexMundi, countries aiming for good development, strong economies, and broad access to higher education are expected to target a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of at least 40%
And according to these statistics, Nigeria with a population of about 230 million people and about 200 universities has a GER of about 12%

In comparison with other countries with a high population, for example, Indonesia with about 280 million people has over 4,000 tertiary institutions and stands at a ratio of about 1 university per 70,000 people and a GER of over 45%. The country has over 10 million students enrolled in tertiary education alone spanning across various ages.

Indonesia’s substantial investment in education is evident in its university-to-population ratio, supporting its large student population. Nigeria’s GER, on the other hand, is significantly below the global average, showing the urgent need for substantial investment in education, which would, in turn, yield national growth and development.

Indonesia, unlike Nigeria, has universities scattered across every region, making access to exams, learning, and opportunity far more democratic and safer.

If we had even half of Indonesia’s educational infrastructure, which would be about 2,000 universities, the Nigerian child would not be forced into life-threatening journeys just to write an exam and still face challenges of university acceptance after performing well.

Education is not a luxury or expense, It is the biggest contributor to development for any nation, and therefore most important investment any nation can do for development.

You cannot claim to want development while starving our young the access to knowledge. You cannot claim to value your citizens while risking the lives of teenagers every examination season.

We must aggressively and intentionally expand our education system.

We must strive to match our population with access to education.

Our young generation should not be endangered because they desire education. We must do better as a nation and ensure that our future leaders get the new Nigeria that they deserve.

A new Nigeria is POssible. to

fnep2smooth:
They need to dash the person handling the jamb page a bottle of wine. He handled it professionally even though he admitted that clearance starts by 6:30am. Which is still early.

gbadexy:
F.ool.ish people defending non sense due to sentiments.
That person must be slow to state that exam didn't start by 6 am but clearance starts by 6.30 am. Would they be able to write the exam if they arrived by 8am.

papyjaypaul:
1. JAMB should have just kept quiet, it's not everything you respond to.
2. Have you ever thought about how it's easier to gain admission from a school abroad than a school in Nigeria? Why do you need JAMB after WAEC?
3. Why is the JAMB of Ghana or USA not telling you to travel to their country to write exams first? Aren't we thinking? If you are interested in a school, you don't need JAMB as a feeder to pass you to the schools you're interested in.
4. The universities knew the fraud JAMB is, that's why they started post-UTME. Stop giving these kids too many exams.
5. Nigeria is losing its youth by bringing JAMB into the university admission process. See the way kids get admission into 5-6 schools in US? There is a system that those universities trust to help them and they give you admission letter.
6. Let's strengthen the process from the foundation and admit that JAMB is unnecessary. The countries around us, Benin, Ghana and all of them have seen market in Nigeria's misrery which we have invited upon ourselves.

BondRiv:
Obi is always hasty and desperate for attention. Often delving into matters with little knowledge about them.

checkmatez:
What is Jamb defending?

Young kids are posted to different local Governments where they don't know anyone and yet you are setting exams so early.

Why make children lodge in hotels due to distance in order to meet up the time,someone living in Uyo and jamb exam centre is in Abak also have to be seated before 8am as claimed by jamb, when will he/she set out?..
There's a very large number of educated illiterates in this country??

emmy512:
Nonsense reply from Jamb, is the 6.30 verification not part of the exams process?

Let me go back up and block some mofos defending nonsense.

haybhi1:
Always exercise your 0.2kb worth of brainn na... every exam needs you to be present sometime before it's start. I know your lack of intelligence would want to suggest they start by 12 forgetting the myriad of factors that make that uneasy—for instance, those who have to travel long distance. Besides, most major exams in the world are done in the morning and requires your presence before the exam.

You probably never wrote any professional exam your whole life though, so I won't really blame you.

OKOATA:
This is what hatred as turned this one to. You think you are funny not knowing you are doing yourself and generations. So the only thing you can pick out of this is what? And you will have sisters, families or neighbours who will perhaps do jamb. No worry sha. Your eye go soon clear.

haybhi1:
Always exercise your 0.2kb worth of brainn na... every exam needs you to be present sometime before it's start. I know your lack of intelligence would want to suggest they start by 12 forgetting the myriad of factors that make that uneasy—for instance, those who have to travel long distance. Besides, most major exams in the world are done in the morning and requires your presence before the exam.

You probably never wrote any professional exam your whole life though, so I won't really blame you.