Why extension of UTME result validity is impracticable, by Oloyede

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has faulted calls for extending validity of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result beyond one year.

Oloyede, who spoke during a courtesy visit with his management team to the corporate headquarters of The Guardian, said persons calling for the extension failed to consider issues involved.

The JAMB boss, who met with the editorial board of The Guardian, said: “The examination we are conducting cannot be banked because it is a ranking examination; it is not an examination that determines full assessment of the candidate.

“Our examination does not qualify you for any placement; it is your five credits in O’ Level that places you in the university or polytechnic. Our own exam is to say, ‘there are more people who are qualified, let us rank them’. If you have 400 over 400 in UTME and do not have five credits in O’ Level, you are going nowhere.”

Corroborating Oloyede’s claim, Professor of Educational Measurement and Evaluation, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Boniface Nworgu, who was also part of the JAMB team, said extending the validity would be an aberration, as every test has its purpose and characteristics.

Nworgu pointed out that UTME is a norm referenced test, which results or scores are interpreted in reference to the group that took the particular examination, not in reference to any external standards or criteria, which is the case with other types of tests or examinations.

He said: “The implication of this is obvious. Once a cohort or a group of candidates takes this particular examination, you cannot reference the score of a candidate from that particular group to another group, which would be taking that test the subsequent year or years.

“Secondly, there is the issue of equivalence or non-equivalence because UTME, this year 2023, will certainly not have the same psychometric characteristics as the 2024 examination.

“There is also the issue of unfairness or lack of equity that will arise when we play with that suggestion. Take for instance, in 2022, the UTME was very easy, and these candidates scored 320. Now, in 2023, JAMB gave a more difficult examination, and you bring the score of a candidate who did an easy exam with those who did a more difficult examination.”

Have you been fair to the millions who took this examination? In assessment, fairness and equity are very important considerations.” On fees charged candidates, and money returned to the Federal Government, Oloyede said the board supports institutions and has built Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres across the country. He disclosed that the board, this year, supported universities with N750 million and enhances staff salaries with N2 billion every year.

In the last three years, Oloyede said the examination body established a 1,100-capacity CBT centre in Kaduna, 750-capacity centre in Owerri, and in other states of the federation.

The registrar clarified that of the 1,635,673 candidates that sat for this year’s UTME, only 399,000 had five credits in O’ Level, including English and Mathematics.

Responding, The Guardian Publisher, Mrs. Maiden Alex-Ibru, lauded the examination body for its good work and assured that the organisation will continue to uphold the truth, no matter whose ox is gored.

Chairman of the Editorial Board, Prof. Wale Omole, and Managing Director, Mr. Martins Oloja, noted that The Guardian is committed to speaking truth at all times and advancing the cause of information dissemination.