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Author: mozimo AMATAREOTUBO amas
Posted to the web: 8/30/2006 5:49:17 PM

Post-JAMB screening: Matters arising
By Mozimo Amatareotubo
email: amasmozimo@yahoo.co.uk
telephone: +234 806 600 1713
 
Only last year, the federal government, through the erstwhile Minister of Education, Mrs. Chinwe Obaji, introduced the policy of post-JAMB screening by universities. This policy made it mandatary for all tertiary institutions to undertake the task of further screening candidates after their JAMB results before giving admission. According to Obaji, candidates with a score of 200 and above will be shortlised by JAMB and their names and scores sent to their universities of choice which should then do another screening test in form of aptitude tests, oral interviews or even another examination. As candidates (“jambites”) struggle to check their results in the just concluded JAMB examination for the 2005/2006 session, the question on the minds and lips of everyone is if there will still be a post-JAMB screening test by universities before admission, since the minister that introduced this bizarre policy has been shown the way out? The new Minister of Education, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, is not all that new to us, she has been part of the Obasanjo inner caucus team that has helped in reshaping the economy. She had also functioned as the Minister of Solid Minerals – a moribund ministry that she brought into life. For the first time in the history of that ministry, a blueprint was made to show case the mineral potentials of each state in the nation. These are some of her achievements worth mentioning. What future does the Post-JAMB screening hold? Should it continue this year and beyond? Should candidates be made to go through two examinations to get admission into one university? Should parents, guardians and sponsors be made to dig deep into their pockets to pay for JAMB forms, examination and then pay as high as N3000 for another Post-JAMB test? These are some puzzling matters that need to be put to rest as admission into Universities for 2005/2006 session draws near. Obaji measured the success of her policy by coming on national television to show cases of people who had scored 280 and above but could not score 20% in the Post-JAMB examination. According to her, these persons must have been engage in cheating during JAMB examinations and so could not pass the Post-JAMB examination because there was no room to cheat or impersonate. What she failed to note was that there are a number of factors that contribute to someone passing an examination. It is not impossible for an intelligent candidate to pass one examination and fail another of the same standard Apart from laziness and dullness, a number of other factors can affect the performance of someone in an examination. Psychological factors, medical reasons of sickness can also make an intelligent person fail an examination. Not to mention the environmental and social ambience in which the examination was written. This is why it is said that “examination is not the true test of knowledge”. So, Obaji goofed when she said that someone who scored 280 but could not score 20% in another examination must have cheated. Moreover, who knows if the candidate did arts in JAMB exam and during the post-JAMB aptitude test, mathematics was more prevalent? The erstwhile minister also hinged her justification for a post-JAMB screening on the premise that JAMB examinations are not credible and so can not be accepted. If JAMB is not functional why did she not scrap the board so that candidates only have to apply to their universities to go through their internal aptitude test/examination before admission? If JAMB is filled with malpractices, as she believed, why did she have to use 200 as a bench mark for those to go to the second round screening in their universities? By giving a benchmark of 200 and above to shortlist candidates, she was invariably, and ironically too, attesting to the credibility of JAMB. What made Obaji believe that those who scored above 200 had not been the intelligent ones that wrote with their brains rather then using ‘expo’ and impersonation? The post-JAMB screening exercise lacks merit and credibility just as the JAMB examinations. There were cases of cheating and malpractices of impersonation in the last Post-JAMB screening exercise. Though the malpractices were not as high as that of JAMB examinations but this was because it was only the first. Most candidates did not know what to expect and so did not prepare their pranks. The post-JAMB screening exercise is a means of enriching the vice-chancellors and other administrative officers of institutions by giving them more powers to be in control of the admission of candidates into their institutions. When JAMB gave admission it ensured that in spite of the cheatings only those with the highest and best scores get admission by centralizing the process. But the post-JAMB screening dimishes the powers of JAMB and gave same to the Universities thereby making it possible for administrative officers and Vice-Chancellors to influence grades of their potential candidates of interest. If the post-JAMB screening exercise is encouraged, it is only a matter of time for the wrath and stink in JAMB examinations to creep into the exercise. the post-UME screening is only a froth!