Fuss over scrapping of post-UTME, unnecessary, says IBB varsity ex-VC, Kolo
Former Vice Chancellor, Niger State-owned IBB University, Lapai, Prof. Ibrahim A. Kolo, has deplored the outpourings by groups and individuals that have trailed the nullification of the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (post-UTME) by the Federal Government.
According to him, the furore has been upswing for two main reasons: the failure by many to understand the role of JAMB as provided for it by the law setting it up, and a gross lack of understanding of the technicalities of standardised tests.
In a article titled, “Still on the Musings Over Post-UTME Proscription,” Kolo said, “The emotional and in some cases irrational outpourings by several groups and individuals in the past weeks that have greeted the proscription of the test components of post-UTME exercises, as conducted by universities and other tertiary institutions have only pointed to two issues: A lack of understanding of the technicalities of standardised tests as a key basis for setting minimum standards for determining eligibility for admission into higher institutions of learning; and the misunderstanding of the role of JAMB as provided for it by the Law setting up the body in the first place.”
He stressed that by law, “JAMB is an educational outfit meant to ensure examination technical factors (tests development; test items banking; tests administration, test items efficiency and psychometric properties) for preserving the validity, reliability and usability of the examinations to be conducted. It is such technicalities of public examinations that have been taken for granted that led to misunderstandings, which brought about the introduction of the Post UTME.”
He added that the reality from educational psychology point of view is that the examination, which teachers and lecturers set and administer to students after teaching them courses of instruction do not have the established and verifiable technical qualities expected of standardised tests as developed and administered by public examination bodies set up to professionally organise examinations for determining the required academic and aptitude qualities of candidates examined.
Kolo, added that it was also erroneous to assume that the post-UTME testing eliminates academically incompetent candidates with presumably high scores from the UTME saying, “Foremost, there is yet to be any incontrovertible empirical evidence to prove the assumption.”
He further explained that, “Contrary to the widespread belief that JAMB sets the criteria for admission for universities and other tertiary institutions, the practice is that all heads of institutions (and not JAMB) collectively determine the UTME cut off marks after JAMB would have presented the general performance of candidates during a particular year’s exercise. This usually takes place during the annual policy meeting of JAMB under the chairmanship of the Minister of Education.”
He said it was surprising that some are even canvassing for a return to the days when only about five universities existed in the country and conducted their respective entrance examinations for much less number of candidates. Those canvassing the return to institutional autonomy over admissions don’t seem to know that JAMB was partly a recommendation arising for the change of the educational policy which abrogated the Higher School Certificate (HSC), making senior secondary leavers eligible for admission as well as the envisaged proliferation of universities and tertiary institutions meant to meet the increasing number of candidates seeking for university admission.The full text of the article can be found at The Guardian’s website
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1 Comments
Nonsense
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