New JAMB cut-off mark against the poor — Oludotun

The President of the Association of Tutorial School Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Sodunke Oludotun, tells LEKE BAIYEWU in this interview why parents and students are kicking against the upped entry cut-off mark for university admission
Why are parents protesting against the cut-off mark recently introduced by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board?
When JAMB form was sold, the expected cut-off mark for a candidate to sit post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination in the University of Lagos was 200.
It was even written in the brochure. Now, I think Dibu Ojerinde (JAMB registrar) is trying to exhibit administrative discretion and that is what has led to this. What we are fighting against is why it is now 250, thereby preventing a lot of candidates from taking post-UTME in UNILAG and five other universities, which are the University of Benin, the University of , the Obafemi Awolowo University, the Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Nigeria.
What we are saying is for the decision makers to go back to the status quo; let all students who scored 200 have the opportunity to sit for post-UTME. If they failed post-UTME, they will know that they are responsible for failing it. Why are you (JAMB) compelling them (candidates)? By the time they were prevented from sitting post-UTME in UNILAG, they were told that some schools that needed them (candidates) would send text messages to them. Not long after, the candidates have started receiving the text messages from universities in Benue and Adamawa, where Shekau (leader of Boko Haram) may be visiting. Who wants to go there? The person that bought the form initially knew his or her plan in life. There are some students who will score 201 (in UTME) but in post-UTME they may score 99 per cent. So, what are we saying? Who is saying it is not possible? Why is JAMB forcing them out of UNILAG?
Do you think JAMB would have upped the cut-off mark?
We learnt that private universities have 'settled' JAMB to frustrate these candidates so that they can them because some private institutions are folding up. This is grossly unfair to the youths who are the future. This is our grouse and this is why we are fighting; that the cut-off mark to qualify for post-UTME should be 200 so that every student (who meets the mark) can have the opportunity of sitting post-UTME. The level we are now is that if they insist on 250, and at 250 somebody from the North – from Kaduna or Kano – who scored 201 will have his or her name on the list of qualified candidates. Now, someone from the southern part of the country will be disqualified.
Are you saying the 250 cut-off mark is limited to certain areas?
It is not general. They have applied catchment to the 250. Let me tell you what this will result into: for somebody like I, all my children, next year, will come from Adamawa. Let anyone of them bear Oludotun, he or she is from Adamawa. They will also come from Yobe. That is what people have done now. JAMB has scattered everything. Do you know the most painful thing? All the processes are shrouded in darkness and secrecy that nobody knew what was happening. We are insider, which was why we knew. Nobody knew what was happening.
Normally, once you score 200 and above, you will wait for the post-UTME form to be out in UNILAG for purchase. Now, we have been told that it is only the list that JAMB will send (to UNILAG). And the list that JAMB will send is at the discretion of the board. What is their business? Let the school determine who will be admitted and who will not. UNILAG and other affected institutions do not know anything about this. It is JAMB only and I have their in-house publication in respect to that.
Is it not possible that the list JAMB will send to UNILAG will be based on the university's choice of cut-off mark?
We made the registrar of UNILAG to address us today (during the Wednesday protests) and she told us that she was invited to a meeting – we recorded everything – with officials of the Federal Ministry of Education and JAMB, and that the decision was taken by them; that UNILAG could not question them. The decision was taken by JAMB. That was why in the new process, JAMB will be the one to send the list of those who will buy post-UTME form in the school. Why?
Why is the 250 cut-off mark not applicable to all federal universities?
It is not applicable to all federal universities; it is affecting only six federal universities – UNILAG, UI, OAU, UNIBEN, ABU and UNN. I do not know what JAMB is up to. Probably they are looking at the population (of applicants); that the students are too many. They want to reduce the number of those that will sit for post-UTME in order to avoid having 20,000 students sitting for post-UTME in a particular department, when it will admit only 150. It will make sense but in a democratic setting, does anybody have the right to tell candidates 'forcefully, you must go to another university. This is the university I want.'
At the beginning of this (matriculation) examination, the rule of engagement was that it was going to be 200; it is in the brochure. The most painful thing is that after JAMB ran the Computer Based Test, they sold forms for change of institution and change of course to the tune of almost N1bn. They did not announce this to students. I know some students who left state universities for these federal institutions because they felt they had 200 and above. Now, what is their hope? It is dashed! Mind you, it is the same JAMB that reduced choices for universities from two to one. Candidates are restricted to one choice and JAMB will now choose the school where candidates will sit post-UTME. Why? That somebody scored 250 or I scored 200 does not mean other persons must be admitted into a university before me. In post-UTME, I can score 99 and the other person will score far less. Why the limitation? No matter how many they are; no matter their number, there will always be some exceptional students that will score very high marks (in post-UTME) and these are the products they want to waste away now. These candidates are frustrated and have been crying ever since.
As JAMB is said to be making so much money from the sale of forms, the universities are also generating huge revenue from candidates they will not grant admission. What do you think?
I can say it openly; President Muhammadu Buhari does not need to be running after governors. They are not as corrupt as JAMB and WAEC. Do you know how much they sell WAEC's GCE form in Ghana? It is N7, 500. In Nigeria, it is N11, 600. Or is it not the same WAEC? All these people are terrible. I know so much about them and I can expose them. Let the EFCC go and check their accounts. JAMB sold its form for N4, 600. At the Computer Based Test centres, they paid N400 per candidate. Where did the remaining N4, 200 go to? And the applicants were about 1.7 million. There is fraud and these people will be behaving as if they are saints. The media need to help us to expose some of these. The House of Representatives and Senate's Committees on Education are not doing anything. There is nobody to cry to. If cut-off mark to qualify for post-UTME was 250 during Dibu Ojerinde's days as a student, would he have gone to school, let alone become a professor? Why is JAMB making life difficult for these ones (candidates) because of their (the board's) administrative laxity? So many schools are under-admitting because they have their private programmes awarding diploma certificates. They are now punishing the children of poor people. This is the only country where students cry because they want to gain admission to schools. There is nowhere in the world where such happens. Others beg students to come to their universities. Is this the change we bargained for? We are going to fight this issue to the end, until we get to the root of the matter.
Do you think it was bad upping the cut-off mark?
I will explain this: I score 240 and I was not given the opportunity of sitting for post-UTME. In the case of UNILAG, where less than 9,000 will take post-UTME meanwhile, close to 30,000 are qualified to sit for the examination. UNILAG will admit only about 4,000. What JAMB is trying to say is that since UNILAG will take 4000 candidates, 30,000 should not take the examination. Let 9,000 candidates sit for the examination. But who says that out of the over 20,000 to be disqualified none of them is better than the 9,000 who have been given the opportunity? Why admit just 4,000 when the capacity of the school can admit 15,000? We now hear that there are no more schools of undergraduate; that they are now post-graduate universities. In the last three years, how many of them (undergraduates) have entered UI? UI has decided to focus more on post-graduates and our government is looking at them while they are punishing these students.