Well, I will be happy to read people’s views and I will do what the majority wants. My position, however, is that none of them will do it. It is a combination.
The tertiary institutions are now working with JAMB to set the cut-off marks. You versus I (concept) does not exist. We do it together. •Prof. Ishaq Oloyede (JAMB registrar)
Admission should be the responsibility of the university. This is because the university admits and teaches the students and the authorities know what they are looking for.
If an institution is doing well, it is because its outcome is good. And what is the outcome of an institution, if not the students it churns out to the society; that is how you rate an institution.
If it is the university that will take and teach the students, then I believe it should set the cut-off marks. •Prof. Chinwe Obaji (A former Minister of Education)
Although universities cannot be expected to set cut-off marks for examinations conducted by JAMB, as autonomous bodies, universities can set their own cut-off marks.
If JAMB sets its cut-off marks and universities see them as ridiculous, universities can set their own cut-off marks.
For instance, if JAMB sets the cut-off mark for a particular course at 180 and universities see that it is ridiculous owing to the realities on the ground, they can move the cut-off mark to 200. In an ideal setting, universities should be allowed to conduct their own entrance examinations and set their own cut-off marks.
This was what gave vent to pre-degree courses as entry qualifications into our universities. You will recall that pre-degree courses were essentially run by universities and they did not have any input from JAMB.
Altogether, we must continue to seek ways to deepen the educational sector via service delivery and proactive policies capable of providing answers to our socio-economic challenges. •Prof David Akinola (A former Chief Medical Director, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife)
If you are applying for a course, you apply through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board but, in terms of spaces available, it is the universities that are in a position to know.
JAMB would not have that information and it would not know what spaces are available in the Chemistry or History departments in a university, for example. To me, it makes sense for universities to determine cut-off marks.
JAMB can set a minimum score, but in terms of admission, it is just commonsensical that universities should determine cut-off marks. •Alfred Susu, (Emeritus Professor, University of Lagos)
Considering our structure, there’s really not much conflict between the present system and the recently suggested absolute determination of admission criteria by individual institutions.
Under the present system, the admission criteria are still finally set by the individual institutions. What JAMB does, in essence, is to determine the benchmarks for national standards. It is a kind of quality assurance under which institutions may not operate for the purpose of admission. The challenge in allowing individual institutions determine their cut-off marks is that in the ensuing competition for candidates, standards may be set at such low levels as will affect quality. I think that what we have on the ground serves the system well for now. The system which the new helmsman in JAMB appears to favour sure has its own advantages but then some adjustments must be made to extant policies and structures for them to fit in very well. It could be a long term prospect. •Chibuzo Asomugha (Immediate past National President, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics)
It will be absurd for JAMB to fix cut-off marks. Universities are not of the same level. Also, students’ choices determine the competition.
If JAMB determines the cut-off marks and the maximum that an institution can take is exceeded, what will happen? That is why it is absurd and there is no basis for JAMB to do it.
They should leave it to the schools. It is absurd because it amounts to eroding the autonomy of the schools. I don’t find it logical. •Prof. Sunday Oyediran, University of Lagos
Personally, I will prefer that the schools set the cut-off marks, but there should be a minimum entry basis that should be set by JAMB for all universities.
The universities should determine the cut-off marks for the departments, but the minimum entry basis should be determined by JAMB.
The reason is if we leave everything to the schools, some students may not get admitted. Whereas we have had cases where some students come in with very low JAMB scores but by the time they are ending, they are hitting the roof in terms of grades. So, we should have a base that will give the students an opportunity to enter a university. •Dr. Iguanre Solomon (HOD Language and Literary Studies, Babcock University)
Universities should determine cut-off marks because cut-off marks are determined by the number of students applying for a course and the availability of spaces.
Cut-off marks depend on the carrying capacity of each university and the carrying capacity depends on the number of existing students and the number of staff.
If the number of students is less than the number of available spaces then a university can take every applicant. But if there are more students than the available spaces, then the issue of cut-off mark comes in.
The institution will then look at those who have chosen that course critically. Suppose there are 20 spaces and 100 students applied for a course, if the highest score is 300, the authorities will look down the list, in descending order, and rank their scores from 300 to the lowest and look at the score that corresponds with 20 spaces. The cut-off mark may come down to 270. So, the cut-off should be determined by the carrying capacity of the institution involved. •Professor Adewale Solarin (Director General, National Mathematical Centre, Abuja)
All over the world, respective universities determine their own admission requirements because we don’t have the same thing in terms of the number of students who are applying to respective institutions. Applications to institutions will be by preference because students will want to make sure it is the course (they want that) they do.
Yes, there are some courses that run across, but students will always be interested in doing certain courses that they want and that they have preference for and where they want to go and do it.
For that reason, cut-off marks cannot be the same because they are going to end up with a situation where, for the sake of analysis, we have 100 people applying to the Lagos State University and you have 400 people applying to the University of Lagos.
At the end of the day, we find out that those who will be competing for the slots at LASU will not be as many as those competing at UNILAG or somewhere else. So, at the end of the day, there is no way the cut-off marks can be the same. •Professor Lanre Fagbohun (Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University)
Schools cannot and should not be granted that undue privilege of deciding or determining the cut-off marks simply because every Nigerian graduate will be working either within the Nigerian system or outside the country as products of the Nigerian system.
If there is no regulation, if there is no standard, of course, the situation will get worse than we have right now. The education system is in trouble because the quality of some of the people we are producing is far less than what it should be.
I believe that efforts are being made to ensure that there is an improvement here and there, both by the government and private stakeholders.
But when you now leave the determination of cut-off marks to individual university and so on and so forth, it would lead to a situation whereby in an attempt to get candidates/students, some may put their cut-off marks at 100 and some at 50. I mean, there is no end to it.
Right now, we have some graduates who have been employed but who can hardly write two sentences correctly. •Professor Tunde Adeniran (A former Minister of Education)
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