Nigeria Universities Updates

About 340,000 out of the 867, 000 candidates who met the 180 cut-off point in the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination will not be admitted into any of the nation’s tertiary institutions this year, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation has said.

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, told journalists on Tuesday in Kaduna, Kaduna State, that the nations’ tertiary institutions could not absorb all the candidates because of “limited spaces.”

Ojerinde, who described admission into tertiary institutions this year as a “survival of the fittest,” stated that the space available for prospective students was about 527,000.

He also disclosed that most of the candidates did not choose many of the the privately-owned universities because of high tuition.

The JAMB Registrar told journalists during the technical committee meeting on admission to degree-awarding institutions that except access to tertiary institutions was increased, “we will continue to have a lot of people waiting endlessly for admission.”

He added that the meeting, attended also by representatives of most of the higher institutions of learning in the country, was held to select the first set of candidates into the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

Ojerinde explained further that the chairman and secretary of the committee would meet on the admission lists to decide whether the candidates had met the set criteria for admission or not.

He said that once the candidates had met the set criteria, the names of such candidate would be displayed on the JAMB website and those of the universities, polytechnics and COEs chosen by them.

Ojerinde said, “With this 180 cut-off point, we have about 867,000 candidates who made 180 and above, and yet the available space is just about 527,000.

“So, the remaining 340,000 candidates will have no place to go. That is the point, except access to tertiary institutions is increased; we will continue to have lots of people waiting endlessly for admission.

“One of the beauties of this UTME is that we have brought them together and we are saying that they can go to any institution. If the university doesn’t work, college of education may work; if not, polytechnics or monotechnics may work.

“But I am not saying that it is to be for everybody because the space available is still not sufficient.”

The JAMB registrar also said that some of the candidates who failed to secure admission into their preferred institutions would be distributed to schools that had fewer number of applicants.

He, however, added that the University of Lagos, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ahmadu Bello University, Yaba College of Technology and Kaduna Polytechnic had the highest number of candidates seeking admissions.

Ojerinde said, “The schools without candidates to admit are mostly private institutions, but by the time candidates discover that they don’t have any other place to go, they will go to these private institutions because it is a matter of setting your priority right.

“I can’t give the names of these institutions now; they are so many. Some of them don’t have any candidate. The Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu is one of them. Mohammed Goni College of Legal and Islamic Studies, Maiduguri has only 13 candidates.

“Admission is not automatic because the space is not sufficient. You have to try again next time if you don’t get admitted this year. It is the survival of the fittest.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates who chose Osun State University as their 1st and /or 2nd choice and all other interested applicants in the 2010 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) with a minimum score of 180 for programmes in Education and 200 for all other programmes, to a screening exercise on Tuesday, 3rd of August, 2010 at 11.00a.m

Please, note that sales of Registration and Access cards end on Tuesday, August 3, 2010.

STEP 1:
Purchase a registration scratch card from the branches of First Bank Nigeria Plc OR WEMA Bank Nigeria Plc as stated in the advertisement.

STEP 2:
Select an option as may be applicable to you on the first page.

STEP 3:
Be careful to enter your UTME Registration Number correctly at the login page.

STEP 4:
Fill out your information correctly in the subsequent forms presented and submit as appropriate. You will be required to upload a passport photograph image of yourself which should not me more than 50 Kilobyte in file size and the Width and Height is between 150 and 300 Pixels.

STEP 5:
On completion of the registration form, print your registration slip to be brought with you on the day of the screening exercise.

If you run into any hitch filling out your form, please send an email to utme@uniosun.edu.ng or call the following numbers:
08163006731, 08135939399

Popularity: 2% [?]

The 2010 Post-UTME Screening Exercise of University of Benin (UNIBEN) will take place on Friday 23rd July 2010 and Saturday 24th July 2010 in various centers within Ugbowo Campus of UNIBEN. ALL candidates are expected to be seated, latest by 9.00am each day of the screening.

All candidates who chose UNIBEN as University of First and or Second choice and who scored 200 and above in the UTME are eligible to participate in the Screening Exercise.

All candidates should register on-line on www.uniben.waeup.org

To register, each candidate will require a PIN card available at a sum of N1, 000.00 (one thousand Naira) only from any of the under-listed Banks.

* Access Bank, PLC
* Oceanic Bank, PLC
* Bank PHB, PLC
* UBA Bank, PLC
* Fidelity Bank, PLC
* Unity Bank, PLC
* First Bank, PLC
* WEMA Bank, PLC
* Intercontinental Bank, PLC
* Zenith Bank, PLC

Each candidate will be required to upload on-line, a 1” x 1” COLOUR Passport photograph with RED background in JPEG format only. NOTE that the photograph uploaded will be the only valid ID for all admitted candidates throughout their stay in the University of Benin.

Candidates are to come to the screening centers with the following:

1. Original and one photocopy of the PIN card
2. Acknowledgement paper and Bank Teller for identification
3. Four Figure Table (where applicable)
4. Writing materials (HB pencil and Eraser). NOTE that GSM phones and calculators are NOT allowed.

Access to the University website for normal registration for the Screening Exercise will remain open up till 12.00 midnight on Friday 16th July, 2010.

Popularity: 11% [?]

The pressure and public outcry against post-University Matriculation Examination screening by Nigerian universities not withstanding, the National Universities Commission has endorsed the continuation of the exercise.

Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Prof. Mohammed Audu, disclosed this at the permanent site of the campus in Gidan-Kwano, Minna, on Monday, while briefing journalists on the programmes lined up for the institution’s 10th convocation ceremony.

According to the vice- chancellor, “Just this morning, the Secretary of the NUC said that universities would continue to screen candidates seeking admission to universities because he knows the implications of the contrary to the education sector.”

Audu, who lamented the level of dwindling interest in the sector said, “The fact is that those who are against the Post-UME test are parents of unsuccessful candidates who scored high in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination but failed to perform similar feat during post-UME test.”

With the NUC’s approval of the continued screening of candidates seeking admission to the nation’s universities through the post-UME test, Audu said, it would be easy for university authorities to ascertain the authenticity of candidates writing the examinations as well as the owners of the certificates.

Recently, the House of Representatives voted against the continued use of the post-UME screening by tertiary institutions in the country following the controversies surrounding the exercise while the Senate is yet to look into the matter.

The VC also revealed that the Committee of Vice-Chancellors had earlier sent a position paper to the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Assembly and the NUC, analysing their findings within the short period the screening was introduced, while also advancing reasons for its continuation.

Audu said, “Before the introduction of the screening exercise, over 40 per cent of registered undergraduates in most universities could hardly cope with academic works when they got admitted. This puts a question mark on the high scores recorded by such students at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examination.”

“The level of school dropouts has been on the increase despite the high grades such students scored in their WAEC/NECO and JAMB because there is the likelihood that many of them never sat for the examinations to get the grades they present to us for admission,” the VC further pointed out.

He said since the introduction of the post-UME by various universities in the country, the rate of dropouts, carry-overs and examination malpractices had reduced to less than five per cent, insisting that the screening was in the best interest of the university system and the nation’s education system in general.

Audu also explained that this year’s post-UME test in the university would be conducted using the newly acquired Computer Based Testing device that would ensure the release of the results of the candidates with their pictures on the same day the examination is conducted.

He said the new device would also help to check examination malpractices, as the Information Communication Technology device would help to detect impersonation and other examination vices.

Source: Punch Newspapers – www.punchng.com

Popularity: 9% [?]

The Federal Government has declared 180 as the cut-off mark for admission into all categories of tertiary institutions in the country for all candidates that sat for the first Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination conducted by JAMB.

Ruqqayatu Rufai, minister of education, disclosed the cut-off mark on Thursday at the first combined policy committee meeting on admission to degree awarding institutions.

“We have met with the vice chancellors, rectors and provosts and discussed the issue of the cut-off mark for this year’s UTME and then we agreed on 180 as cut-off mark since it is a unified examination we agreed that it is uniformed for polytechnics, colleges of education as well as universities”, she said. Meanwhile, the minister has directed JAMB to publish the list of candidates in educationally less developed states to facilitate the process of identification.

She reiterated the need by all the institutions to give special attention to candidates from the educationally less developed states according to their admission guidelines. In his address at the meeting, the chairman, governing board of JAMB, Sam Ukpabi, spoke in defence of the UTME when he maintained that the new matriculation examination has come to stay.

Ukpabi noted that UTME began on a strong footing on account of speedy release of just concluded results. He explained that the UTME was a product of the road map to education developed by the immediate past minister of education, Sam Egwu, which was approved by the Federal Executive Council.

The JAMB board chairman noted that the UTME was introduced with a view to addressing the challenges of limited space in the nation’s universities, saying “from all indications, the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination has come to stay”.

According to him, all tertiary institutions across the country are now poised to conduct admissions following the speedy release of the examination results, noting that six levels of admission would be conducted simultaneously.

He, however, appealed to all the institutions to adhere strictly to entry requirements as documented in the board’s brochure and comply strictly with admissions schedules expected to be released at the end of the meeting.

“Institutions should ensure compliance with approved admission guidelines, bearing in mind such criteria as merit, catchment areas, educationally less privileged states, quotas, carrying capacity and national cut off mark”, he said.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Many candidates among the 41,188 whose results were not released are currently in agony concerning their fate. The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) said the results were withheld due to technical errors on the part of candidates or allegations of examination malpractice.

Since the results were released about three weeks ago, some candidates have found that only some of their papers where published and have been making concerted effort to find out if there is any possibility that they will eventually get to know their total scores.

I learnt from the JAMB PRO that those, whose results were seized because of errors like not shading the subject column, have no hope of ever getting them. She said the reason is that the scripts are marked by computers which do not recognized wrongly shaded answer sheets so sets them aside. As for those results being investigated for allegations of examination malpractice, candidates yet to have their complete results should pray earnestly that if they fall into this category, they are cleared of wrongdoing, if not, it is goodbye till next year.

One year is a long time to stay at home doing nothing. Unfortunately many candidates who wrote the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), including those who had no problems accessing their results, would not gain admission into higher institutions during the next admission exercise, and spend the next year out of school. Some already know they did not pass. Some know they have passed, however, that is no guarantee that they will get into school and they will likely be very bitter about their experience.

Whatever category they fall in, I would advice that candidates who find they cannot get into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in the next academic session to invest in themselves by undergoing vocational and entrepreneurial training. It would do them no harm to learn skills that would help them to become self sustaining even before they graduate.

Popularity: 3% [?]