Initially, Nigerian universities, indeed tertiary institutions were conducting entrance examinations for candidates seeking admission until 1978 when the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was established by Decree (Act) which subsequently was amended in 1989 and 1993.
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Jamb was empowered to be responsible for the:
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*general control over the conduct of matriculation examinations into all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education;
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*appointment of examiners, moderators, invigilators, members of subject panels and committees and other persons with respect to matriculation examinations;
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*placement of suitable qualified candidates in the tertiary institutions in collaboration with those institutions.
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Until very recently, JAMB was conducting separate entrance examinations into Degree awarding institutions known as the Universities Matriculation Examination (UME) and Polytechnic/Colleges of Education (PCE) Matriculation Examination.
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But now these examinations have been collapsed into one called Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) whereby candidates are required to choose two universities, two polytechnics and two colleges of education of their choice and sit for the examination once. This reform was meant to liberalise admission opportunity so that a candidate who cannot be admitted into a university, can either get admission into a polytechnic or college of education and so not likely to lose out entirely. Yet majority of candidates preferred university education to the detriment of polytechnic, college of education and vocational studies.
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Even before this innovation, there was introduction of Post-UME or Post-UTME to further screen candidates who obtained 200 and above for specifically university admission so as to check cheating or malpractice by candidates that often scored 300 and above in JAMB only to drop out of the university because they lacked academic competence to cope with university education.
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Therefore, Post-JAMB or Post-UTME was like sifting the chaff from the wheat and get the best and most competent candidates. JAMB results were not reliable enough due to various malpractices hence universities were allowed to conduct weeding tests for those seeking admissions into them.
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Yet the process cannot be said to be perfect nor free of corrupt tendencies and malpractice because other considerations like federal character, quota system, catchment areas and even outright gratification make university admission going only to the privileged, highest bidders. The Post-UTME, conducted by individual universities seemed to have been abused and compromised by the powers-that-be in these universities where the admissions are eventually decided.
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With the report on the reform of government agencies and ministries submitted by Mr. Steve Oronsaye, former Head of Federal Civil Service who chaired a panel to look into rationalization of agencies in order to reduce cost of governance, it recommended abolition of 38 agencies, merger of 52 and reversal of 14 to departments in ministries.
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Among the casualties were the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and National Examinations Council (NECO) domiciled in the Federal Ministry Education.
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The Oronsaye panel recommended that JAMB be divested of the powers to conduct matriculation examinations into tertiary institutions while universities should be allowed to conduct their own entrance examinations.
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According to the recommendations, as widely reported in the media, although JAMB would not be scrapped, it would be an administrative structure to set standards for minimum requirements on how universities in the country would conduct entrance examinations.
I really support the scrapping and I would love the Federal Givernment to scrap them. I see no reason why they should exist...