Posted by From Juliana Taiwo in Abuja on
Federal Government yesterday broke the monopoly hitherto enjoyed by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in placing candidates into the nation's tertiary institutions with a directive that individual universities should further screen candidates recommended to them by JAMB.
Federal Government yesterday broke the monopoly hitherto enjoyed by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in placing candidates into the nation's tertiary institutions with a directive that individual universities should further screen candidates recommended to them by JAMB.
Minister of Education, Mrs. Chinwe Nora Obaji, at the 7th Joint Consultative meeting of the policy committee on admission into degree-awarding institutions, said the directive is in line with government's resolve to instill quality through quality admission, insisting that those found wanting either in learning or character should be denied admissions.
"These cases should be well-documented. Let me quickly caution that this exercise is solely to ensure that only deserving candidates worthy in character and learning as well as possessing requisite potentials for higher education are admitted. This pre-registration screening exercise should never be abused in any form or wrongly taken as a source of revenue. The exercise should be done under the joint supervision of JAMB and National Universities Commission (NUC). It should not be an added burden to the candidates, their parents and guardians," she said.
The minister reiterated that government cannot fund tertiary education 100 per cent in the pursuit of revamping and reforming the nation's university system which needs increased government funding.
"No where in the world are universities solely funded by government and subventions. We cannot be any different. The Federal Government, no doubt, is providing every necessary support and creating the enabling environment to expand access, and to equip the system to effectively discharge its mandate.
These efforts must be complemented by resourceful and innovative management for effective service delivery and achievement of a functional, first-class university system that Nigeria deserves. The system needs a large dose of innovative ideas, inspiring leadership and drive. I challenge you, to please provide the required leadership in your various institutions.
"There is the urgent need for all universities to normalise and regularise their academic calendars to fit into the September - June model. Effective 2005/2006 academic year, all tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria must resume last October and break-up for the session, latest July, 2006.
Furthermore, the federal government has set a deadline of December 2005 for all universities in Nigeria to open and operate active websites of their own as well as computerise all processes; course registration, fees payment, students' records, results and transcripts should be transacted and accessed on-line.
This is the basic minimum capability expected of any university n this information age. I honestly see no financial constraints to complying with this directive", she said
In his remark, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Bello Salim, said the aim of the meeting was to create a forum where the Board and the tertiary institutions would deliberate on admissions issues, ensure smooth conduct of the admission exercise on schedule, which involves the cooperation of the Board and the tertiary institutions and acquaint all stakeholders with policy issues which require implementation or review periodically.