The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is the gateway for students hoping to study at any higher institution in Nigeria.
Since inception, the board has evolved and triumphantly surpasses many challenges of our current age.
It has left the era of Paper-Pencil Based Exam to Computer-Based Test which is currently obtainable elsewhere around the world.
It is, however, worrisome the challenges the aspiring students go through year in year out to enroll for the Examination.
Another area of worry is the charges JAMB has fixed for some of its services, some so exorbitant that one worries why should it be so.
Of a truth, the board under the current Registrar Prof Ishaq Oloyede has been generating and remitting good sum of profit to the government coffers but have we bothered to ask at whose detriment?
Many citizens not directly in the education sector have praised JAMB for helping the Nation in income generation but unaware of the fact that innocent student(including their children and that of friends too) are those paying these monies.
For example, Correction of Sex, Choice of Institutions&Courses, Date of Birth, Local government Areas and etc in form filled attract N2500 officially and N177 as transaction charge for a simple process. The system asks students to make payment first and then opens up for the correction. Sometimes, money is received and system will fail to open up until such student pays the second time, especially for Printing of Admission Letters and Original results.
Since changes are inevitable in Life as well as correction as NO ONE IS ABOVE MISTAKE, fixing a price as much as N2677 is too much. Something in the region of N500-N1000 would have suffice.
That aside, for a student to regularize his/her admission granted by a recognize and accredited Nigeria Institution, JAMB charges as much as N10,000 for same seamless and easy procedure of just making payment and then effect necessary data input.
The government of recent reduced the cost of purchasing the Registration form from N5500 to N3500 but all these charges were not addressed as if its not part of the process. Nigeria students have been lamenting and wondering when did JAMB(an educational outfit of the government) become an income generating agency. Is it not a case of misplaced priorities?
Of worry to students is also the real motive behind limiting the registration process solely to CBT owners when hitherto Cyber Cafe Owners and Individuals with required criteria can effect the registration easily.
On the average, JAMB registers about 2Million candidates each year and its exam is purely “Objectives”. Exam body Like WAEC and NECO enrolls over 35 Million each year for its school leaving certificates examinations. WAEC for example covers 6 West African countries and yet her registration is opened to all. There is a set out requirement, once its met, Candidates are good to go..Bio-metrics are also captured during the WAEC registration and are verified before a student is allowed in during the main exam just as jamb.
It is also worth noting that JAMB exam is valid only for a year whereas these other examination bodies have their result valid for a minimum of 10years. What then is the noise about?
The admission cut off marks has been reduced as low as 120 marks of 400 which brings to question the standard and quality of the exam has been conducted by JAMB. 30% which 120/400 represent falls below the general acceptable pass mark of 40% of any educational institution or body.
It is also notable that the body is struggling to limit Mal-practices in her exam and cancelling some of suspected results of students identified of such via its CCTV, this is laudable.
In this light, it will be more relevant that JAMB focuses more on the conduct of a more reliable and standard examination free of exam Mal-practices, increase cut off marks back to 40% , reduces or remove charges attached to some of the correction process and ensure a more easy approach to examination registration in such a way that aspiring students wont have to suffer looking all around for a CBT center to carry out a process that should not take more than 10minutes.
Worth mentioning as well is the economic set back the present status quo is having on the small-Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs), they are totally cut of the process that they could actually make more simple if well integrated, make honest income and boost the country standard of living in general.
Long Live Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Long Live JAMB.
lONG Live Nigeria Students.
