Nigeria’s Joint Admissions And Matriculation Board (JAMB) has pegged the 2024/2025 admission cut-off mark for universities, and polytechnics & Colleges Of Education, at 140 and 100 respectively. Sure, some leading federal universities will likely put the numbers at around 190 even as the Board will be doing all possible to ensure some forgettable schools do not admit below 140. The highest score possible is 400.
First, I admire the current leadership of JAMB. The team has served Nigeria on many domains. Yet, I have a question: why should Nigeria make its pass mark 35% to be admitted into its universities? At least when we wrote JAMB, the typical cut-off was 210. Yes, there was a pass in the exam. So, reading this era of 140 is unfortunate.
And the most troubling: our future teachers are expected to pass with 25% when those going to work in fintechs, banks, etc will need at least 35%. How does that help Nigeria? Does it mean that teachers are not expected to be average?
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Without the online agents attacking my view, I have two simple suggestions:
-Nigeria must hire independent consultants to see if JAMB is setting a standard these kids cannot meet, for us to be giving admission to a 25% score.
-If the consultants determine that the exams are just at parity, JAMB must push for a new power to set a minimum pass mark of 50%.
Unless we take a stand, we are in a vicious cycle where we are not pushing kids to aim more and pass exams with at least 50% score.
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To make sense of the cut off mark from JAMB, you have to first understand our politics, it’s what determines everything else. The federal and state governments have overwhelming influence in the education sector, and bearing in mind the configuration of Nigeria, any high cut off mark around 200 means the admissions will go overwhelmingly to kids from the southern part. A kid from Imo or Anambra will consider 200 as fair game and aim above it, but that may be untenable for another kid from Zamfara and Sokoto. The admission criteria into Unity Schools will clear your doubts.
If we insist that Tertiary Education must be government funded at scale, then you will continue to lower the cut off mark, else you will put vast majority of Nigerian kids at a disadvantage, which could also be interpreted as being unconstitutional. Nigeria’s Constitution abhors competition, so you cannot exclude education, else you diminish Federal Character principle.
Just like in Forensic oratory, anything that improves your chance of winning in the court, you will urge the judge to consider, anything diminishing your chance, you urge the judge to disregard.
The southeast can easily outcompete in education but not in winning the presidency, so? Doings.
Jamb has outlived its usefullness, every school should determine their requirements and the type of test they want administered.
JAMB makes it difficult for public universities to attract foreign students as those prospective students would have to travel to Nigeria and write the exams on same day, imagine the inconvenience and troubles.