The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) yesterday called the new cut-off mark for admission into Nigerian Universities by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, a disgrace.
NUT National President, Michael Olukoya Alogba, who made the remarks in an address to mark this year’s World Teachers Day, said the policy could lower the standard of education in the country.
“We are not unaware of the public debate concerning the reduction of the cut-off marks of the UTME for admission into universities to a ridiculous 120 instead of the 180 minimum standard earlier used”, he said.
“The 120 cut-off mark implies 30%, a percentage that is not in conformity with merit pass in any examination.
“We are not equally unaware of the age long cry over falling standard of education in Nigeria, of which the blame is always contemptuously put at the door steps of the teacher
“Against this backdrop, the NUT wishes to express its reservations to this policy of admission into Nigerian universities and urge the federal ministry of education and other relevant agencies to review the policy for the improvement of the standard of education in Nigeria”.
Alogba also stated that the union was opposed to the recruitment of non-teachers under the N-power scheme.
His words: “The recruitment of non- graduates constitutes a huge contradiction to the laudable efforts being made by the federal government through the Teachers Registration Council in ensuring professionalism in teaching to rid the school system of non-professionals and quack teachers”
Meanwhile, Nigerian Senate has urged the Federal Ministry of Education to totally scrap post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
This followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Umaru Kurfi, during its session on Tuesday.
Senate also urged JAMB to initiate a strategy to ensure the efficiency and integrity in the conduct of the pre-university examination.
The lawmakers lamented that the introduction of the post-UME examination has to a large extent, failed to remedy the problems associated with JAMB and as such, its continuous existence has posed more challenges for the Nigerian educational system.
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