The furore generated by the on-going debate over the continued adoption of the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in admitting students into our nations universities may still not abate, for the time being.The introduction of the post-UTME by the various universities was a recent development in our nations educational system due to what observers have described as the failure of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to conduct credible, thorough and unblemished examinations.Rather than serving the desired objectives, and garnering accolade, the post-UTME has been seriously criticised for not filling the vacuum created by the lapses associated with the idea, such that universities have been criticised for using it as a platform to earn easy income, by exploiting prospective candidates.A motion by the Chairman of Senate Committee on Water Resources, Heineken Lokpobiori, Bayelsa State and co-sponsored by 35 others canvassed that only JAMB has the legal power to conduct entrance examinations for candidates, seeking to gain admission into Nigerian universities and, therefore, declared as illegal, post-UTME.Before the advent of post-UTME, what has been found to be the deficiencies in the JAMB examinations are shoddy arrangements, leakage, impersonation of candidates, and so on. There are allegations of massive fraud as candidates marks are swapped while JAMB officials were reported to be selling marks.The resultant effects of the anomaly is that many brilliant students are short-changed in the process while the lazy, but rich ones are alleged to have bought their way by eventually scoring very high marks, which would enable them to secure admission into competitive universities and courses of study.The Post-UTME was introduced in 2005 by the Federal Government, to allow universities screen qualified candidates, to ascertain the authenticity of the marks they scored in JAMB examination. Mrs. Chinwe Nora Obaji, then education minister said the rationale behind the policy was that students were found to be using fraudulent results to gain admission. This policy was later modified to embrace polytechnics and colleges of education.The defence by the universities now is that with the lapses experienced in the conduct of UTME by JAMB, wrong candidates, who have been involved in the illicit venture, all in the bid to get admission are often been admitted at the expense of genuine and qualified candidates. Section 5(A), C(ii) of the JAMB Board Act, CAP J1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 provides that the body should control the conduct of matriculation examinations for admission into all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.This has been the position of the vice-chancellors, under the aegis of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities. Speaking in the same vein, the Minister of Education, Professor Ruquyyatu Rufai had insisted that the Post-UTME still remains relevant and will continue until a standardised system is adopted for admitting students into higher institutions.The Education Minister restated governments position during the inauguration of the Test Development Complex of JAMB, held recently in Abuja that JAMB has a legal backing to conduct examination and regulate admission of tertiary institutions, as a clearing house.I think we need to ask a question whetherit is legal for universities to conduct Post-UTME, by virtue of the establishment Act of JAMB, which vested the body with the sole responsibility of conducting qualification examinations into our universities.From the foregoing, it is reasonable to aver that it is not illegal or out of place for universities to conduct post-UTME, for two reasons. First, it has not in any way eroded the statutory functions of JAMB. For instance, there is no dispute of the fact that a generally acceptable minimum cut-off mark for admission into the universities is agreed upon. This helps the universities to manage the numerous numbers of prospective applicants for better selection.Secondly, many students have been found to have scored high marks in the UTME but failed woefully in the post-UTME, even though the examinations are virtually the same. This is an indication that the performance of such students could have been externally influencedjustifying the widely held belief that UTME is fraught with irregularities.The second argument has lent credence to the call in some quarters that JAMB should be scrapped and that admission exercise should be decentralised and left for the tertiary institutions to handle. This position is fallacious and cannot reasonably be taken as justification for the abrogation of the JAMB Act.The admission process will be rubbished if the respective institutions are saddled with the enormous task to undertake since they do not have the capacity and resources for its implementation. After all, the JAMB Act provides that placement of suitably qualified candidates shall be in collaboration with the tertiary institutions after taking into consideration, the guidelines approved for each tertiary institution by its proprietor or other competent authorities.On the exploitation, which JAMB had severally accused universities of, government should closely monitor the amount being charged; to ensure that what is collected from the candidates is used to defray administrative cost of the exercise, which the National Council on Education had directed should not exceed N1,000. According to Obaji, universities have now turned it to a honey pot.On the allegation, the chairman of AVNU and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Ish-aq Oloyede, maintained that the vice-chancellors "have been very careful not to respond to JAMBs campaign of calumny. We have heard that senators would not be misled into taking decisions for states and private universities, considering the tripod nature of the university system".Until the status quo is changed, JAMB should be assisted to carry out its statutory obligations and surmount its daunting challenges - ranging from inadequate funding, untimely release of allocations and shortage of qualified personnel. The Board must also ensure that bad eggs in its fold, which could be sabotaging its efforts in conducting flawless entrance examinations into tertiary institutions, are flushed out from the system.No doubt, relying only on UTME may not be enough to get the best into our very competitive universities. Like what obtains in other nations of the world, admission selection process is highly competitive, detailed and broad. For instance, three basic requirements are needed to select eligible candidates into one on the best medical institutions in the world, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, namely; medical examination, letter of reference, past records and personal statement.This procedure though demanding, seeks to holistically assess 11 qualities an applicant must possess. They are, psychological maturity, character and integrity, self-discipline, adaptability and flexibility, good judgment, excellent communication skills, altruism, motivation and intellectual curiosity, leadership skills and commitment to excellence.Harvard University, founded in 1636 and a member of the Ivy League has a tradition of careful and individual review of applications dating back to its early days. Each application receives as many as four readings, prior to selection meeting. Sub-committees are formed, to meet severally, to discuss an application for as long as an hour. Decisions on which applicants to admit are made by majority vote, which are later referred to the Admissions Committee.This quality assurance has enabled Harvard University, as of 2009, to be ranked first among world universities, since the publication of the THES-QS World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. Regrettably, no Nigerian university is on any reasonable level on the rankings.From the foregoing, there is every reason to have a mechanism to thoroughly assess successful candidates after the UTME. For the controversy that the post-UTME has generated, universities could rather adopt post-UTME Assessment, which is a hybrid of both the post-UTME Screening and Examination.Besetting our educational system is poor funding, lack of infrastructure, brain drain, graduate unemployment, cultism, inconsistent public policies, among others. Unnecessary energies should not be dissipated over the post-UTME controversy.All stakeholders should be made to realise that the attainment of the nations educational objectives is a must. This brings to the fore the urgent need to have a national summit in which major players in the industry must be able to identify major problems, how to solve the problems and project into the future in helping the nation to attain its educational aspirations.Kupoluyi wrote in from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, via adewalekupoluyi@yahoo.co.uk
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