*Says bill on it before Rep 10th Assembly
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The lawmaker representing Oluyole Federal Constituency, Hon Tolulope Akande-Sadipe has advocated quick passage of United Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)
validity to three years, rather than the present one year validity.
Hon Akande – Sadipe who made the call during during an online seminar on Monday, said a bill towards this is already before the House of Representatives and at the Committee level and that the pending bill be made top priority in the 10th Assembly
According to the lawmaker, after laying the amendment on the bill at the floor of the house, and it is passed for an assent by the President, UTME will have a validity of 3 years.
She stated that the Bill seeks to increase the validity of results of UTME from one year to five years. However, it has been reduced to three years.
“I sponsored the bill, March 16, 2022, on the floor of the House of Representatives, but because of the magnitude of bills that go to the floor of the House, the bill has gotten to the committee level and we are almost there”, she said.
Hon Akande-Sadipe said “I pray the bill becomes a reality. If it becomes a reality, it will take away a lot of hardship away from many homes”.
The lawmaker representing Oluyole Federal constituency stressed that
some of the arguments against the bill includes JAMB is a revenue generating agency; disguised unemployment and the dichotomy between achievement test and aptitude test.
Hon Akande-Sadipe maintained that UTME, supervised by JAMB, should not be an examination that will be conducted every year, adding that the tenures/validity of other internationally recognized examinations such as GMAT, GRE, IELTS, TETOFL, SAT, MCAT, PTE, and USMLE last up to two-five years.
Emphasizing that she is passionate about the bill, Hon Akande-Sadipe said many are victims of the JAMB yearly tests and that a student who passes UTME should not sit for the examination repeatedly, rather the result should be valid for about 3 years.
“I am not asking that the exam tenure be extended in cases where people fail. I am asking that it should be extended when people pass. In Nigeria, every year you take JAMB and you don’t get into Uni, you have to repeat JAMB. Why?”
She pointed out that UTME should be a test to assess one’s readiness to go to the university, adding that a candidate’s readiness should not change after attempting and passing it, once.
The lawmaker representing Oluyole Federal constituency said, “168, 613 students scored 200 and above in the 2021 UTME; 236,936 scored 190 and above; 327, 624 scored 180, but less than 100 students got admitted into Tertiary institutions”.
” Of the 600 eligible applicants, only about 100 representing 16.67% of candidates got their admission uploaded on the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS).”
Speaking on behalf of participants, the convener, Speak-out Africa, Ms. Agwu Blessing Newest commended Akande-Sadipe for championing a course that will be of benefit to the less-privileged in the society.
The NGO described Akande-Sadipe as an instrument championing a good course for poor Nigerian students, who have been a victim of yearly JAMB examinations.
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