Universities in Nigeria employ the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(Post-UTME) screening to filter out fake applicants and ensure academic readiness by assessing candidates beyond their initial UTME results.
Post-UTME was introduced as a second layer of screening to address issues with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, combat fraudulent admissions, and raise academic standards. Although it has been identified as a burden to parents and guardians as well as students, it is considered a crucial quality assurance mechanism.
However, education stakeholders in Ondo, Ekiti and Osun say the use of the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination to screen applicants has helped institutions to weed out admission seekers with fake results.
Speaking with journalist in Akure, Ondo State, Dr Bolaji Oshodi, the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), said the examination had been able to screen out applicants with Ordinary Level(O’L) results gotten through crooked means.
“In an era where some parents and guardians take their children and wards to ‘miracle centres’ to sit for Ordinary Level and UTME examinations, post-UTME examination is a good way of testing the true academic ability of prospective undergraduates.
“However, in Nigeria where every system has the tendency to be compromised, the post-UTME may not actually serve its intended purpose.
“On the issue of asking students to come and sit for post-UTME examination when each university already knows it quota, life is all about competition, the examination is meant to test prospective students’ ability in order to pick the most qualified.
“In all, I make bold to say that, the idea of post-UTME examination is a good one, if it is well managed and executed with sincerity and integrity,” he said.
Also, Comrade Tosin-Temitope Alade, the President of National Association of Ondo State Students (NAOSS), described the post-UTME exercise as one of the most important and credible mechanisms for ensuring quality admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Alade added that the exercise was not designed to undermine UTME, but to serve as a complementary process that could help institutions identify the best among candidates in readiness for specific courses.
“Without such a filter, we may risk admitting students who are not sufficiently prepared for the rigours of these disciplines.
“Many institutions have adopted virtual screening exercises. In fact, a good number of students now secure admission right from their homes and only appear physically on campus for final verification and documentation,” he stated.
Also, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Mr Adegbenro Adebayo, said the institution allowed many applicants to put in for the screening in order to admit the best as its students.
“At FUTA, post-UTME is done via virtual screening: the aggregation of the UTME score and the SSCE result is considered,” he said.
Similarly, the Proprietor of Harvard International Schools in Osogbo, Dr Muyiwa Oke, said the examination was an avenue to ensure that the best candidates were admitted into tertiary institutions in the country.
Oke, however, said that tertiary institutions should be considerate in fixing the amount payable for the examination.
However, Mr Adigun Adebisi, a parent, expressed the belief that the examination should be scrapped by the government due to the cost and method of selecting candidates for admission by the management of tertiary institutions.
Adebisi said that post-UTME had also denied students who scored good grades in UTME admission into the university.
“My child sat for post-UTME twice, but he is yet to secure admission despite having good scores in UTME.
“I realised the examination is meant for the survival of the fittest because if you don’t have money or know prominent people, it will be difficult to be admitted,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, said the examination was important to separate the wheat from the chaff.
According to him, OAU allows candidates to take the examination virtually, but that does not discredit other universities that insist candidates should write the examination at the institution.
“Not all universities have enough technological facilities to manage the numbers of candidates sitting for the examination outside the institution like OAU,” he said.
In Ado-Ekiti, an educationist, Mr Sunday Ibidapo, said the post-UTME examination was genuinely introduced to serve as a corrective measure to ensures that students who gained admission into tertiary institutions were truly qualified beyond their UTME scores.
Ibidapo said the examination also helped to screen out candidates who may have obtained inflated UTME scores, through examination malpractice.
He said lack of uniformity across institutions also raised issues of fairness and transparency, adding that it imposes additional stress on young candidates who already faced significant pressure from UTME examination.
He also said that the financial implications of post-UTME was too substantial for parents and guardians.
Mr Amos Adewale, a teacher, advised the Federal Government to either regulate admissions processes or cancel post-UTME, and screen students based on their JAMB scores.
Adewale said the post-UTME charges, acceptance and clearance fees, and online screening of qualified shortlisted candidates should be scrapped.
He said his vehicle was attacked by armed robbers who nearly killed him in the presence of his son on their way to the University of Lagos for post-UTME.
Mrs Funso Ologuntoye, a trader, said initially, post-UTME charge was pegged at N2,000, but had risen to between N5,000 and N10,000 or more, depending on the institution.
Ologuntoye lamented that she spent at least N75,000 on accommodation and feeding just for her daughter to sit for Post-UTME.
She appealed to the Federal Government to scrap the examination to relieve parents of financial burden and avoid risk of long journeys.
Similarly, an undergraduate student, Bayo Ogundipe, said most institutions are using post-UTME to generate revenue, rather than the interest of the candidates.
Ogundipe explained that management of tertiary institutions always open their portals for over 6,000 students to pay for virtual examination and clearance, though only 1,200 candidates would be given admission.
He also urged the Federal Government to start using JAMB to screen students for admission and scrap post-UTME to save parents from the financial burdens of paying non-refundable fees.
However, a university lecturer, Dr Wole Balogun, disagreed with the calls for scrapping of post-UTME.
According to Balogun, the examination assesses candidates in readiness for higher learning, and also assists the universities management to carefully admit candidates.
“I am aware of the financial burden and cost of transportation for parents and candidates but it’s worth it. Universities can not afford to admit unqualified students for higher learning.
“Economically, cost of quality education in Nigeria is very expensive, I pray that God blesses parents to cater for their children’s tertiary education fees,” he said.