Candidates, parents and other stakeholders are not at ease over the challenges posed by inadequate infrastructure, such as limited number of Computer Based Testing (CBT) centres and the diminishing capacity of Nigerian universities to effectively absorb candidates.
In a recent statement, Fabian Benjamin, head of public relations at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), says about 800,000 candidates have successfully registered for the 2017 edition of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The introduction of Remita, an electronic payment platform as one of the payment modes, has purportedly increased the rate of registration.
“This measure has doubled the rate of the registration as over 800,000 candidates have registered. I want to assure all candidates that are desirous of registering for this examination, will not be left out,” Benjamin says in an address to journalists.
“We are working hard to ensure that no Nigerian child is denied of his or her right of advancing in education. What we are doing currently is for the benefit of not only these candidates, but for the entire Nigerians. We do not intend to extend the registration deadline as we are sure that all of the candidates will be duly registered,’’ Benjamin adds.
Candidates eager to register for the 2017/18 season of the UTME have been frustrated by the existence of few CBT registration centres and the slow internet connection at these centres.
There are about 93 JAMB approved CBT registration centres across the 36 states, in Lagos there are only 20 centres and this is proving both insufficient and ineffective.
“This is terrible, I was at the FESTAC CBT centre, Lagos to register but the experience was terrible. Without exaggerating, I arrived there as early as 5:30am for three days before I was able to register,” Mariam Busola, a JAMB candidate, says.
According an experience at a CBT centre in Aguda, Lagos, there were instances of candidates collapsing having come as early as 5am, and standing under the sun for hours without being able to register, which they blamed on sharp practices by the CBT centre staff.
Despite JAMB’s effort to make the registration process smooth, available data show that in the event
that these candidates registered successfully they are not all going to be admitted into tertiary institutions due to limited carrying capacity.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on February 20, released data on the JAMB, for 2010 – 2016,
which showed rise in candidates’ application tide and ebb in the carrying capacity of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
In 2015, Dibu Ojerinde, former registrar of the JAMB, said, “The carrying capacity that we have now all over the country including universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, among others, is less than 800,000;” and same year, 1.47 million candidates sat for the examination.
Additionally, the JAMB data showed that a total of 11.7 million applications were received between 2010 and 2016, while a total of 2.7 million students were admitted across the 36 states and the FCT between 2010 and 2015. This represents a 23 percent admission to application ratio, which means about 77 percent of those who applied were not admitted.
“There are two key reasons why candidates might not be admitted. The first is the non-qualification of candidates and the second is the carrying capacity of tertiary institutions in the Nigeria,” says Solomon Adebola, who is the director at Babcock Centre for Executive Development and dean, Babcock Business School, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.
Adebola contends that the solution to the first problem is improvement in teaching and learning methods at level of basic education. However, on carrying capacity there is more to it than the physical carrying capacity; various professional bodies wade into the mix to guarantee that graduates are employed without the labour market being oversaturated.
To improve access to tertiary institutions in general and universities in particular, Peter Okebukola, former executive secretary at the National Universities Commission (NUC), captures the views of some experts surveyed who suggest an expansion of carrying capacity.
“One component is to embark on massive upgrading of physical facilities in existing universities to take in at least additional 1,000 students per year. This will involve more classrooms, hostels, laboratories, workshops, library and offices,” he states.
Staff recruitment should be undertaken in the quantity and quality to match the annual growth in student enrolment. Hence, with successful scaling of NUC due diligence on the expanded facilities and increased human resources, carrying capacity is increased to 1000.
The university can, thereafter, proceed to enrol additional 1,000 students during the next admission season. In 10 years, a typical university would have added about 10,000 students to its baseline stock.
“In terms of cost per university, this option translates to an annual average of N1.6 billion for building, equipment and staffing. In 10 years, each university will require at least N10.6 billion for the expansion project,” Okebukola says.
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