*Says most post-UTME scores are fraudulent
By Godstime Ebi, Ughelli
A Child psychologist and Educationist, Chief Cosmas Kofa, has called on the Federal Government, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board JAMB), and other stakeholders to adopt UTME examination scores as its sole or main criterion to be used by both Federal and State-owned Universities in offering admission to its prospective students.
Chief Kofa, the Child Psychology, made these remarks in Ogriagbene town, Bomadi Council Area of Delta State, and he called on the Minister of Education, Dr.Morufu Olatunji Alausa, to direct universities across the country to stick to UTME scores and discontinue the use of additional post-UTME aggregate to offer admission to its candidates.
The Educationist argued that there was no need for universities to further subject their admission-seeking candidates to a shoddy post-UTME result when Jamb now uses computer-based tests, which is adjudged as the best tool to examine the cognitive content of students seeking Tertiary Education.
According to him, the call became necessary to both the Minister of Education, Dr Alausa, and Jamb to direct all post-UTME conducting institutions to discontinue the use of that tool (post UTME) since in most cases it makes a mockery of the UTME scores when compared to the scores released by the prospective institutions in their post UTME.
” After sitting for JAMB, which is computer-based, and going further to sit for another examination in the name of post UTME for the same course is a mockery of the UTME and a duplication of functions.”
“Why must an institution deny me admission based on scores in the UTME aggregate, my opinion is that if a candidate scored above the cut off marks in his course of study, he should be offered admission to study the course and not to rely on Nigerian factor (Post UTME), Nigerian should reject obscure benchmark made by these institutions which are usually a fraud to the Educational sector”.
He decried that most Federal and State-owned Universities’ admission-seeking candidates were being shortchanged, especially in the core professional courses, under the guise of post-UTME to unduly screen out candidates who had promising scores in the UTME.
He lamented that most Vice Chancellors, under the pretence of using the aggregate of Jamb scores and their post UTME scores unscrupulously, sweep merits under the carpet in favour of politicians, businessmen, leaving those who merited admission in their course of choice in disarray.
Chief Kofa urged all stakeholders in the Educational sectors to urgently look into ” these issues raised, especially the further subjection of admission-seeking candidates to sit for post UTME, whose outcomes (results) are always obscure.”
Speaking about the computer-based test, he maintained that it remains the best tool to examine candidates’ cognitive content, besides some minor technical issues experienced when using it to conduct UTME candidates. He noted that since it is adjudged as the best, it is ridiculous and a mockery to JAMB if the result of the post-UTME is at variance.
Chief Kofa opined that if the Federal government, Jamb, and every other relevant stakeholders in the educational sectors could immediately put an end to the admission fraud by the use of post UTME as a disguise, it would, in a long way, reduce Nigerian students seeking University education abroad, he said.
Chief Kofa also charges the Federal government to reintroduce or enforce its original Education policy of the federal character system in its Tertiary institutions.
He held that in the seventies to nineties, where the quota system, educational less disadvantage, State and other criteria were used to offer admission to prospective students, lamenting that the entire federal character system has been eroded, begging for its reclamation by all Nigerians.
