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| Professor Peter Okebukola, Rahmon Bello, Chinwe Obaji |
Renowned professors and academics in the Education sector, at a summit organised by Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria, EWAN, in Lagos, spoke as one on the need for post-UTME to be brought back to separate the wheat from the chaff among students.
They posited that the scrapping of the exam will further worsen the quality of our graduates and enhance examination malpractice in special examination centres.
SUMMIT: From left, Keynote Speaker and former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, NUC, Professor Peter Okebukola; Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Rahmon Bello and former Minister of Education, Professor Chinwe Obaji, at the maiden summit organised by the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria, EWAN, at University of Lagos, UNILAG
They posited that the scrapping of the exam will further worsen the quality of our graduates and enhance examination malpractice in special examination centres.
Public Examinations Bothered by the decadence in integrity of public examinations and admission in Nigeria, EWAN had last Thursday, at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), invited former Education Minister, Professor Chinwe Obaji, former NUC Secretary, Professor Peter Okebukola, Secretary-General, Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, AVCNU, Professor Michael Faborode and ASUU President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi to chart the way forward in the Education sector.
Others at the summit were the Head of Nigeria National Office, WAEC, Mr Olu Adenipekun, Professor Anthony Kila, lecturer, Oxford University, UK, Princess Sarah Sosan, former Deputy Governor, Lagos State, Deputy Registrar, Lagos State Polytechnic, LASPOTECH, Mr Lanre Kuye and UNILAG Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rahmon Bello who was also the host.
The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu who was the chief host was conspicuously absent without a representative.
Professor Peter Okebukola, while delivering the keynote address on Integrity of Public Examinations and Admission in Nigeria said it is the post-UTME that can filter the 1.5 million candidates jostling for the 500,000 limited admission spaces in the 143 universities.
500,000 roaming students He said: ‘’Working on the premise that about 60 per cent will be suitably qualified, we shall have a large army of about 500,000 roaming the streets after the 2016/2017 admission season.
An annual 8-9 per cent increase in the number of candidates who take the UTME will translate into millions who are not able to gain admission few years down the road.”
In proffering solutions to address admission deficit, Okebukola urged the government to embark on massive upgrading of physical facilities in existing universities to accomodate at least, an additional 1,000 students per year, adding that this will involve more classrooms, laboratories, workshops, libraries and offices.
He advised that staff recruitment be undertaken in quantity and quality to match the annual growth in student enrolment.
In terms of cost per university, he said that an annual average of N900 million for should be alotted for building, equipment and staffing, adding that in 10 years, each university will require at least N9 billion for expansion projects.
“If we desire 10 per cent annual increase in enrolment in the nation’s 143 public and private universities, we will require N1.161 billion in 10 years. Of this sum, federal universities will require N360 billion while state universities will require N342 billion.
The remaining N459 billion will have to be sourced by private universities from their proprietors,” he said.
NOUN To overcome the admission problem, he enjoins the government to strengthen the National Open University of Nigeria to enable it admit more eligible students in the region of about 2,000,000 in 10 years.
In 10 years, according to him, the Nigerian university system would have expanded to almost triple its present enrolment capacity.
“This will put a smile on the faces of seekers of university admission and bolster the country’s higher education participation rate,’’ he explained.
‘’The fourth component of the plan is to implement the recommendation of the 2002 National Summit on Higher School Certificate, HSC.
HSC will serve as the holding bay for the teeming products of the senior secondary school and the filter for the academically able students.
HSC “It will be the cauldron for cooking the students into physical, emotional and intellectual maturity. The 25-30 per cent that will scale the HSC hurdle will comfortably be absorbed by the expanded university system.’’
He maintained that in giving admission to candidates, institutions should cream the top from high performers in the Senior School Certificate Examination.
“Rather than open the gates of the universities to 500,000 candidates with five credit-level passes at two sittings, we demand that the five credits be obtained at just one sitting. This is combined with excellent performance in the post-UTME screening exercise,” he said.
Teacher education “Make polytechnic education and teacher education programmes in colleges of education attractive to candidates. This will ease the pressure on universities. Equivalence granted HND with Bachelor’s degree holders and the implementation of the Teachers Salary Scale are some of the strategies that will make polytechnics and colleges of education attractive to candidates.”
Meanwhile, former Minister of Education, Professor Chinwe Obaji, in her remark, said she was sad that her initiatives which were a response to the loss of integrity in public examinations, including the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination, among others, have been rubbished by the institutions by jettisoning the original idea behind the initiative. Also, the National President of ASUU, Prof.
Biodun Ogunyemi, reiterated the union’s stance that it is the primary responsibility of the Senate of each university to admit and graduate students for the institutions, adding that ASUU would continue to fight the suspension of the post-UTME and the fees charged by the institutions should be regulated.
Source: Vanguard
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