HOW AMERICA, BRITAIN, AUSTRIA, BELGIUM AND SWITZERLAND HANDLE THE EXERCISE

According to the media the motion brought by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Water Resources, Senator Heineken Lokpobiori, Bayelsa West and co-sponsored by 35 Senators including Smart Adeyemi, Ayogu Eze, Zainab Kure, Chris Anyawu and Dahiru Kuta was passed by the Senate declaring illegal what he described a post-UTME examination conducted by Nigerian Universities for the purpose of admitting fresh students to the institution.

According to the Senator, only the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has the legal power to conduct entrance examinations for candidates seeking to gain admission into Nigerian Universities. He therefore declared as illegal, unconstitutional and wicked the current practice whereby universities conduct screening exercises for candidates submitted to them by JAMB before admitting them into their universities.

In furtherance to this proposition taken by the senate, it mandated its education committee to investigate the actions of the Universities which the sponsors of the motion condemn in strong terms as 'a rip-off of our people and a rape of our laws.'However, some senators opposed the motion. For example Senator Aisha Hassan was reported to have 'slammed her colleagues who opposed the post-UTME exercise. She argued that quality education which the exercise seeks to entrench should not be sacrificed because it does not favour some.

According to her, 'we should be saying thank you to the universities for the post-UTME.' They are to give qualitative education to our children. People condemn when it suits them and tend to condone when it suits them. It is common knowledge that JAMB has failed, I therefore oppose in total the scrapping of post-UTME.'

Considering the pre-eminent position which the law-makers occupy, as the highest representative law-making body of the people in Nigeria, and in view of the decay in the nations educational system, it has become virtually necessary to address the following issues which emanate from the Senate proceedings:

The purport, scope and powers of JAMB under Section 5(a), (c)(ii) of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Act, CAP J1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004; The Statutory Powers of Universities to make guidelines for admission of students to universities and the 2002-2007 deafening protests of Concerned Parents coupled with Committee of Pro-Chancellors, Council of Vice Chancellors on the compromised results paraded by JAMB and the call to scrap JAMB; the final decision of the Federal Government to continue to use JAMB as benchmark while the universities were to commence post-UTME screening exercise; the salutary effect of the screening exercise carried out by universities on students armed with JAMB results; cost of Screening exercise and conclusion.

The purport, scope and powers of JAMB
UNDER SECTION 5(A), (C)(II) OF THE JOINT ADMISSIONS AND MATRICULATION BOARD ACT, CAP J1, LAWS OF THE FEDERATION OF NIGERIA, 2004, Section 5(1)(a) of JAMB Act, provides for the functions of the Board as follows: The general control of the conduct of matriculation examinations for admissions into all Universities, Polytechnics (by whatever name called) and Colleges of Education (by whatever name called) in Nigeria. Section 5(1)(b) provides as follows:

The appointment of examiners, moderators, invigilators, members of subject panels and committees and other persons with respect to matriculation examinations and any other matter incidental thereto or connected therewith.

The combined effect of Section 5(1), (a) and 5(1)(c)(ii) is that the JAMB is statutorily empowered to set and conduct examinations, appoint examiners and other invigilators for the purpose of the examination set by the board.

There is nothing strange in this practice. The world all-over, each country usually sets up joint admission board for their universities. What is in issue is whether the JAMB board is the all in all or one stop shop with regard to university's admission process OR do the universities have no role to play in admission process?

Put in another way is it the position that anybody who passes JAMB examination must be admitted willy-nilly to university of his choice? The answer is emphatic NO.

The admission of everybody that parades JAMB results would certainly further damage the quality of tertiary institutions in the country.

Austria, Switzerland and Belgium which used to allow unrestricted admission into the university for anyone who passed the qualifying examination soon found to their dismay overcrowding and high dropout rates as well as high failure rates.

Consequently, a law was passed allowing universities to impose measures to select students starting from 2006. Medical schools in Vienna, Innsbruck and Graz were allowed to introduce entrance examination.

The JAMB Act is very clear on the role of JAMB in admission process. To gain admission into any university, there is more than mere passing of the JAMB examination. This is clear from the provisions of Section 5(1)(c)(ii) of JAMB Act which provides that: The placement of suitably qualified candidates shall be in collaboration with the tertiary institutions after taking into account-the guidelines approved for each tertiary institution by its proprietor or other competent authority;

It is clear from the JAMB Act that the guidelines approved by each university by its proprietors are essential factors in the placement of students. The universities are not meant to be arm-chair participants in the admission process.

The statutory powers of Universities to make guidelines for admission of students to Universities

All Nigerian Universities hold their existence to law. The various universities' statutes contain the objects of each university and the composition and powers of universities organs and officers. A careful examination of these statutes reveal that they share common provisions in relation to the power to determine the suitability of candidates who can be admitted to the university out of those who passed JAMB examination.

There is therefore nothing illegal in universities setting up guidelines and giving effect to such guidelines.

The giving effect to the guidelines of each university is only possible through screening by each university. This is a task that is beyond the JAMB and cannot in any case be undertaken by it. Continued

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