Way out of admission crisis, by stakeholders

[MrVan]

BY DAYO ADESULU

Last Saturday, about 1.5 million students struggled for the five hundred thousand (500,000) admission slots at the just- concluded 2012 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), held nationwide.

Students who met the JAMB cut-off mark are expected to visit institutions of choice to get their cut-off marks before entering the second phase of entrance examination which will be conducted by each school.

Until a student passes the aptitude test with a specific cut-off mark which varies from one institution to another and from one department to another, such a student cannot boast of admission even if he scored the highest in JÀMB.

It is on this premise that the selection of 500,000 admission slots will be determined among the 1.5 million entries. At the end of the admission exercises, about one million students will not gain university admission this year, a figure that has defined the situation as critical.

However, the question begging for answer among stakeholders in the education sector is: What becomes of the remaining one million students, considering the fact that no other national entrance examination will hold until 2013?

Reacting to the admission crisis, the Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Professor Bamitale Omole said the issue of admission is an emblematic crisis in the Nigerian state.

His words: "Our education policy has not given opportunity for students to appreciate other tertiary education besides university. We kill our polytechnics and technical institutions that could have assisted our students in their careers, forgetting that not all students can go to the university because of their special area of interest which aligns with their careers in life."

Cross section of candidates during an exam He noted that some students are gifted in technical education which can turn them into great industrialists.

"Many industrialists all over the world are not university graduates," he said. To make matters worse, some of the students aspiring for university education can neither read nor write. As a parent and vice-chancellor, it gives me great concern," he added.

Using Obafemi Awolowo University as an example, Omole pointed out that about 70,000 students apply yearly for admission, but the school can take only 5,600 students.

He said: "Because we want to ensure that we build on the solid foundation of our forefathers, we take only the best."

The vice-chancellor who lamented the inconsistency in our education policy said that our education system needs a thorough overhaul, noting: "We do not have a stable, resilient education policy, even after 50 years of independence. "

He maintained that there is so much distraction in our education policy shift, as the frequent change from one education system to another has not helped the sector.

As a way out, Omole advised students who are not very good academically to seek  admissions into the polytechnics, technical schools and colleges of education.

According to him, success in life is not based on university education alone, stressing that in some overseas countries, some students go for education in meat-butchering which is recognised by their government as part of science. "They are even better paid than some degree holders," he added.

While supporting the idea of building more universities to accommodate the over one million left over students, he urged the Federal Government to fund and maintain existing ones to  world class standard.

On her part, former Commissioner for Education, Edo State, Professor Ngozi Osarenren stated that most people have this mentality that they must go to university without knowing that the polytechnic is as good as the university.

She said: "The essence of examination is to create an enabling environment for

competition where the best will emerge." According to the former commissioner, "if we have admission vacancies for all the 1.5 million students, there should be no need for examination."

Osarenren explained that if for instance, a total of 150 students apply to a department with a capacity to accommodate 50 students, what the management will do is to look for a benchmark and admit the best amongst those applicants.  "Those who do not meet the cut-off marks among the students cannot blame the institution," she said.

The professor, nonetheless pointed out that we need to expand our tertiary facilities to cushion the effect of backlog of students seeking admission yearly, stressing that in getting the best for our students, we have to improve the welfare of our lecturers and the institutions.

Vanguard Nigeria