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Considering the lapses observed in
conduct and operation and with the introduction of a new system of
matriculation examination, the Universal Tertiary Matriculation
Examination (UTME) says it is no longer desirable for universities to
continue to organise the Post-University Matriculation Examination
(Post UME), the registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation
Board (JAMB), Dibu Ojerinde, has said.

The JAMB official, who spoke in Abuja
during the inspection of the UTME examination, said that since students
are writing examinations for admission into six different higher
institutions, it would be a great burden to maintain the Post-UME. He
also said there are too many lapses in the operation and conduct of the
post UME examinations.

Post UME screening was introduced by
several universities to test students who have passed the JAMB
examination. It is often conducted by the institution into which the
candidate is seeking to gain admission.

“As of now, government says there must
be a screening, so we would still comply with the directive. However,
the problem is that now we have six institutions of choice for the
candidates; are they going to go through six institutions for
screening?” Mr. Ojerinde said.

Exam still relevant

Minister of
Education, Ruqayyatu Rufai, however said the post UME exercise, despite
obvious failures in the screening exercise by some tertiary
institutions, still remains relevant and will continue until a
standardised system is adopted for admitting candidates into higher
institutions.

“The Post UME issue
is something we have to deliberate more on and make changes where
necessary, but as at now, post UME would continue because after this
examination being taken by the students now; they will go to their
various universities,” said Mrs. Rufai. “We are actually planning to
look at its uniformity, standardising it to ensure that a person that
sits for post UME in any university can use it in another university;
but that arrangement has not been concluded yet.”

Mrs. Rufai restated
the federal government’s resolve to carry out a national examination
summit to tackle the challenges encountered by examination bodies like
JAMB, NECO and WAEC, among others. She noted that there should be
uniformity in public exams to make them stress-free for both the
examining bodies and the candidates.

Immediate action needed

The JAMB boss, Mr.
Ojerinde, said the Post UME has created questions about the board’s
capability to conduct free and fair examinations.

He described as
unfortunate the exorbitant fees charged by various institutions, which
refused to abide by the federal government rule that the post UME
charges must not exceed N1000. Some charge as much as N20, 000, he
explained.

However, the
registrar admitted it would not be easy to scrap the exam. “We have
made the mistake of introducing post UME, that’s my opinion,” he said.
“Nobody can just wake up one day and stop it easily until everybody is
convinced that the job going on in JAMB is okay.”

New Exam

Saturday’s
inspection revealed that about 10,000 Nigerian Security and Civil
Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel, as well as 5,100 handheld scanners and
detectors were deployed to all the UTME exam centres nationwide to
provide security.

Officials from the
ministry of education and its parastatals, as well as the media and
other independent observers, were on hand to witness the exam.

A total of 1,375,642 candidates are reported to have registered for the examination.