Revenue Generation as a Priority
- By solomon2day
- On 30/08/2024
- In Update with Solomon
In 1974, the committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities put in place a panel of the two admissions experts-Mr. L. R Kay, Secretary, Universities Central Council on Admissions of the United Kingdom and Mr. Pettipierre, Director of Ontario Universities Application Center of the province of Ontario, Canada-to examine issues and problems arising from the system of admissions into universities then.
The panel submitted its report to the committee.
Sometime in February 1976, the Federal Military Government also put in place the National Committee on University Entrance, with Mr. Michael. S. Angulu as Chairperson, the committee comprised of 14 other members, who represented various other interests and bodies related to matriculation examinations, university placement and post-secondary education in the country.
In February 1977, the Angulu-led committee submitted its report and recommendations.
After going through the recommendations, the committee of Vice Chancellors, the National Universities Commission and the officials of the Federal Ministry of Education made their own recommendations to the government.
Again Decree 4 of 1993, now mandated the board to conduct admissions in collaboration with higher institutions.
And in March 1977, the Federal Government accepted the recommendations and went on to constitute the Board now known as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), while a year later the board became a legal entity with the promulgation of Decree 2 of 1978.
The Federal Government then went on to appoint Mr. Angulu as the first Registrar and Chief Executive of the Board in 1977.
The mandate of JAMB is to ensure uniform standards in the conduct of matriculation examinations and placement of suitably qualified candidates into higher institutions in Nigeria.
In December 1989, the Federal Government repealed Decree 2 of 1978 and, in its place, promulgated Decree 33, which empowered the board to conduct admissions into Polytechnics and Colleges of Education all over the country.
Although the functions of JAMB do not include revenue generation, with over one million candidates purchasing the entrance examination forms in recent times, the Board is now a major revenue earner for the government, while several other irregularities shadow the operations of the board.
A cross-section of Nigerians are of the belief that limited educational exposure could be an obstacle to achieving positive results.
However, today, higher institutions conduct independent post UTME tests, which have been trailed by lamentations by parents and guardians of the enormous costs about implications for their children and wards in higher institutions of learning in Nigeria.
Despite the rigorous process of admissions, the end products are not of satisfactory quality.
Without doubt, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) seems overwhelmed by its challenges, most especially after the introduction of the Computer Based Tests(CBT).
These challenges, which are enormous, have characterized every examination the board has conducted in recent times.
With no hope for a possible reversal in the near future.
Even though the results of its most recent examinations have been released, thousands of candidates insist that a lot is wrong with the conduct of the examinations, which the board has consistently ignored.
The dynamism and vision of the present leadership of the Board is debatable, if the comments, remarks and questions of candidates and their sponsors are anything to go by.
DonateJoint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Federal Government of Nigeria