JAMB And The Battles Against Education (2)

By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN

In this column last week, I discussed the seeming crave by
national institutions and agencies to become fundraising agencies,
using the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) as an
example. A lot of well-meaning Nigerians reached out to me to make
comments and suggestions, which I found very useful and germaine to
the discourse, hoping that those in authority will deploy these
materials for the benefit of the candidates and JAMB
management.

Victor Umanna:

This exposition is more than two-edged sword as it exposes:
The profiteering mind-set of Jamb which should allow successful
candidates that were unabsorbed this year to have 2 or 3 years
validity to gain admission without writing another exam in
subsequent years. That our secondary education training/supervision
is weak if not below global competiveness; that parents/students
resort to special centre is false confidence mantrap; that no
wonder the university output is a reflection of government’s tempo
of concerted concern and seriousness; that the society aloofness on
abysmal performance generally is now the product of youth
restiveness and embroidered banditry, kidnapping, rape, etc,
pervading our society today.

Mobolaji Amidu:

Thank you very much sir for speaking out and enlightening us on
this crucial issue. You have made us understand that Nigeria’s
problem is foundational. Any country having these problems you
indicated in their education sector definitely has no future. A
country with the kind of anomalies you mentioned above in its
education sector…… is in trouble, big trouble.

Paul Isaac Ayobamidele:

Thanks sir for speaking out clearly on this. I hav always
maintained that JAMB is a big scam and financial fraud imposed on
Nigerians to feed the insatiable thirst of our avaristic greedy
politicians. In the first instance, why should JAMB conduct any
exam this year when a very large percentage of learners offered
admissions for the year 2020/2021 are yet to step their feet into
universities? A larger number of universities are just concluding
their 1st semester for 2020/2021, with a huge backlog of admissions
for last year. If not for the billions, what is the justification
for this year’s exam? JAMB administrators know in the secrets of
their hearts that a large proportion of learners who wrote this
year’s exam will never be admitted except those who can pay for
private university education. The maths is simple; they must
wringed the money out of parents pockets, learners must fail. It is
a deliberate orchestration to raise funds for a broke and
financially reckless government.

Ibrahim Akinpelu:

Thank you very much sir for lending your voice into this JAMB
Brouhaha, The present Registrar of JAMB is just too overbearing and
drifting away from his duties and the major purpose of its agency.
Imagine an agency which does not have any interaction via email or
phone saying students failed, they made virtually all the processes
of admission a money making venture starting from obtaining profile
code which cost 50 Naira each and will not come until they deduct
multiples of it from call credit, buying of forms, paying for CBT
centre, paying for mock exams and now mass failing students. So
that they will rush back to the JAMB portal to pay another 2500
Naira to do change of course or institution for 2500 each for any
corrections, and when an institution finally gives admission with
different course JAMB will still obtain another 2500 again, they
still have to pay 1000 for admission letter and another 1000 for
result slip. And there is a surcharge of 15000 for regularisation
of admission. In spite of the economic difficulties parents are
facing, those are the list of payments they make not to talk of
travelling down to their offices with long queues to be welcomed by
impatient staff that attend to candidates.
One begins to wonder if all these surcharges and revenue generation
drives are the major reason why JAMB was created. There were even
instances where the Registrar left his office to do the job of
security men arresting by himself and doing online trials of people
suspected to be assisting candidates prepare for exams. While JAMB
does not even have a counseling nor virtual class where candidates
could learn the Registrar is all over the place complaining about
people teaching candidates, he even got to the extent of saying the
acronym JAMB is a patent that should never be used by anyone. While
everyone will be happy to see an improvement in educational system
through JAMB, the agency should focus on its core mandate instead
of trying to compete with FIRS and Nigerian Customs in revenue
generation

Uche Nnadozie:

Sir, even the act you quoted clearly states that it can remit
excess money to the government. Let’s stop deceiving and misleading
people please. The JAMB registrar did not go out of his way to
“raise funds”. JAMB charges fees for conducting its exams. After
the exam, the Board remits excess of its funds to the state. How’s
that a crime? This board reduced the fees charged from what it used
to be seven years ago to what it is now. Yet they still remit
money. Maybe the present board is naive. They should have swallowed
the balance like their predecessors used to do. They should have
swallowed it like others did when they indicted a snake.

By the way, all government agencies which deliver service and
collect fees from people will always make some money from their
service. The law says such funds should be remitted to government
coffers not to be swallowed by a snake – then for lawyers to gather
to provide “professional” service when they are asked to vomit the
balance.

Judith Pearce:

Broda mi…. OMG you have made my day. This has been my position.
JAMB is not a fundraising agency! Period! It is wickedness to keep
selling the forms to raise funds. We know the capacity of the
Nigerian Universities and other higher institutions. We know how
many students will be absorbed each year.

Uwemedimo Akpan-Umoh:

How do you reconcile maintaining an account by JAMB with the
TSA? It appears that the remittance by JAMB is more or less about
the agency lodging the funds in TSA …

Ayokunle Olaoluwa Opaogun:

Thank you sir for this and I have been waiting for someone to
speak this kind truth to the whole nation. Jamb is not a body to
generate funds for the government rather than providing free exams
for the students who want to enter institutions. But today Jamb is
a fraud institution which is endangering the pupils and parents.
Sir this country is a fraud. WHY? After all the institutions will
still do their own personal exams before they enrol students with
other fees to buy forms. We need a strong body to tackle this issue
sir. God bless you and God shall strengthen your firm sir amen.

Akomolafe Peter Ayomide:

I doubt if those in JAMB have seen or heard or even understand
this law. The more money JAMB remits to FG, the more the mass
failure and also the more the standard of education drops … Thanks
to my learned SAN for the enlightenment.

Mikail Oludiran:

What a moribund and archaic law it ought to be modified to suit
the reality of the day… In those days it served as a conduit pipe
to siphon billions of Naira.

Nwokolo Otunba Kingsley Chimezie:

Just wondering, why does the generated amount keep reducing over
the years? Is it that we have less people taking part in the exams
or they reduce the price, or probably there’s a snake swallowing
the rest, abi monkey still dey cash out? Just wondering …

Joe Ashaolu:

I have shared these thoughts somewhere before. I concluded that
even if JAMB generates money, the money should immediately go back
into funding educational purposes. Afterall, many of our
educational facilities are in a state of comatose.

GN Adekunle:

But you didn’t come up with this type of write-up when
just-remanded Dibu Ojerinde was the Registrar of JAMB. So, it is
safe to say that Prof. Dibu resolved to embezzlement for someone
like you not to perceive that JAMB was making money during his own
time. As much as I agreed with some points raised in this write-up
but it is untimely, coming out at a time a Prof. that pocketed the
masses money was just remanded.

Wale Oriji:

This is exactly why I told some people that what the man is
doing at JAMB isn’t commendable because he got the reasons and why
wrong. And the hardships candidates face to write the examination
now is part of the reasons for mass failure. JAMB needs
reevaluation.

All said and done, there is an urgent need for this agency to
reinvent itself in order to fulfil the purpose for which it was
established. In a country that claims to practice federalism, there
is absolutely no reason. We should not centralize the admission
process into tertiary institutions that were not set up or funded
by the federal government. It is totally illogical for a federal
agency to control and dictate the procedure for admission into
state and private universities. But until the law establishing JAMB
is tinkered with, we are stuck for now, which is why this piece has
been rendered to proffer solutions and remedies for an obviously
flawed process.

The Ministry of Education, which has supervisory jurisdiction
over JAMB, should work out an efficient strategy that will reduce
the multiple layers of money-gulping procedures of the agency, in
order to lessen the burden of the candidates and their parents.
Education should ordinarily be an essential service, which every
nation should prioritize for the benefit of its citizens. This is a
global phenomenon that should be in the interest of all
stakeholders in the educational sector. More importantly however,
the Federal Government must make conscious efforts to decentralize
the process of admission into tertiary institutions, so that we can
truly pride ourselves on running a federation.

The totality of all the useful comments and suggestions stated
above is to the effect that there is a need for a response
mechanism such that JAMB as an agency can receive constant feedback
from all those who are affected one way or the other, with the
conduct of its affairs. The primary concern should be the interest
of the candidates, for whose benefit the agency was established in
the first place. As a starting point, the fees being paid for
examinations should cover all other protocols and procedures
relating to or connected with the admission process. Parents who
are financially distressed from the coronavirus economy, parents
who have been battered by the biting state of insecurity in the
land, who have no hope of a better tomorrow, should not be
subjected to the trauma of a cumbersome and prohibitive admission
regime. That will be a disservice to education.

#lifewithoutChristiscrisis

By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN

In this column last week, I discussed the seeming crave by
national institutions and agencies to become fundraising agencies,
using the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) as an
example. A lot of well-meaning Nigerians reached out to me to make
comments and suggestions, which I found very useful and germaine to
the discourse, hoping that those in authority will deploy these
materials for the benefit of the candidates and JAMB
management.

Victor Umanna:

This exposition is more than two-edged sword as it exposes:
The profiteering mind-set of Jamb which should allow successful
candidates that were unabsorbed this year to have 2 or 3 years
validity to gain admission without writing another exam in
subsequent years. That our secondary education training/supervision
is weak if not below global competiveness; that parents/students
resort to special centre is false confidence mantrap; that no
wonder the university output is a reflection of government’s tempo
of concerted concern and seriousness; that the society aloofness on
abysmal performance generally is now the product of youth
restiveness and embroidered banditry, kidnapping, rape, etc,
pervading our society today.

Mobolaji Amidu:

Thank you very much sir for speaking out and enlightening us on
this crucial issue. You have made us understand that Nigeria’s
problem is foundational. Any country having these problems you
indicated in their education sector definitely has no future. A
country with the kind of anomalies you mentioned above in its
education sector…… is in trouble, big trouble.

Paul Isaac Ayobamidele:

Thanks sir for speaking out clearly on this. I hav always
maintained that JAMB is a big scam and financial fraud imposed on
Nigerians to feed the insatiable thirst of our avaristic greedy
politicians. In the first instance, why should JAMB conduct any
exam this year when a very large percentage of learners offered
admissions for the year 2020/2021 are yet to step their feet into
universities? A larger number of universities are just concluding
their 1st semester for 2020/2021, with a huge backlog of admissions
for last year. If not for the billions, what is the justification
for this year’s exam? JAMB administrators know in the secrets of
their hearts that a large proportion of learners who wrote this
year’s exam will never be admitted except those who can pay for
private university education. The maths is simple; they must
wringed the money out of parents pockets, learners must fail. It is
a deliberate orchestration to raise funds for a broke and
financially reckless government.

Ibrahim Akinpelu:

Thank you very much sir for lending your voice into this JAMB
Brouhaha, The present Registrar of JAMB is just too overbearing and
drifting away from his duties and the major purpose of its agency.
Imagine an agency which does not have any interaction via email or
phone saying students failed, they made virtually all the processes
of admission a money making venture starting from obtaining profile
code which cost 50 Naira each and will not come until they deduct
multiples of it from call credit, buying of forms, paying for CBT
centre, paying for mock exams and now mass failing students. So
that they will rush back to the JAMB portal to pay another 2500
Naira to do change of course or institution for 2500 each for any
corrections, and when an institution finally gives admission with
different course JAMB will still obtain another 2500 again, they
still have to pay 1000 for admission letter and another 1000 for
result slip. And there is a surcharge of 15000 for regularisation
of admission. In spite of the economic difficulties parents are
facing, those are the list of payments they make not to talk of
travelling down to their offices with long queues to be welcomed by
impatient staff that attend to candidates.
One begins to wonder if all these surcharges and revenue generation
drives are the major reason why JAMB was created. There were even
instances where the Registrar left his office to do the job of
security men arresting by himself and doing online trials of people
suspected to be assisting candidates prepare for exams. While JAMB
does not even have a counseling nor virtual class where candidates
could learn the Registrar is all over the place complaining about
people teaching candidates, he even got to the extent of saying the
acronym JAMB is a patent that should never be used by anyone. While
everyone will be happy to see an improvement in educational system
through JAMB, the agency should focus on its core mandate instead
of trying to compete with FIRS and Nigerian Customs in revenue
generation

Uche Nnadozie:

Sir, even the act you quoted clearly states that it can remit
excess money to the government. Let’s stop deceiving and misleading
people please. The JAMB registrar did not go out of his way to
“raise funds”. JAMB charges fees for conducting its exams. After
the exam, the Board remits excess of its funds to the state. How’s
that a crime? This board reduced the fees charged from what it used
to be seven years ago to what it is now. Yet they still remit
money. Maybe the present board is naive. They should have swallowed
the balance like their predecessors used to do. They should have
swallowed it like others did when they indicted a snake.

By the way, all government agencies which deliver service and
collect fees from people will always make some money from their
service. The law says such funds should be remitted to government
coffers not to be swallowed by a snake – then for lawyers to gather
to provide “professional” service when they are asked to vomit the
balance.

Judith Pearce:

Broda mi…. OMG you have made my day. This has been my position.
JAMB is not a fundraising agency! Period! It is wickedness to keep
selling the forms to raise funds. We know the capacity of the
Nigerian Universities and other higher institutions. We know how
many students will be absorbed each year.

Uwemedimo Akpan-Umoh:

How do you reconcile maintaining an account by JAMB with the
TSA? It appears that the remittance by JAMB is more or less about
the agency lodging the funds in TSA …

Ayokunle Olaoluwa Opaogun:

Thank you sir for this and I have been waiting for someone to
speak this kind truth to the whole nation. Jamb is not a body to
generate funds for the government rather than providing free exams
for the students who want to enter institutions. But today Jamb is
a fraud institution which is endangering the pupils and parents.
Sir this country is a fraud. WHY? After all the institutions will
still do their own personal exams before they enrol students with
other fees to buy forms. We need a strong body to tackle this issue
sir. God bless you and God shall strengthen your firm sir amen.

Akomolafe Peter Ayomide:

I doubt if those in JAMB have seen or heard or even understand
this law. The more money JAMB remits to FG, the more the mass
failure and also the more the standard of education drops … Thanks
to my learned SAN for the enlightenment.

Mikail Oludiran:

What a moribund and archaic law it ought to be modified to suit
the reality of the day… In those days it served as a conduit pipe
to siphon billions of Naira.

Nwokolo Otunba Kingsley Chimezie:

Just wondering, why does the generated amount keep reducing over
the years? Is it that we have less people taking part in the exams
or they reduce the price, or probably there’s a snake swallowing
the rest, abi monkey still dey cash out? Just wondering …

Joe Ashaolu:

I have shared these thoughts somewhere before. I concluded that
even if JAMB generates money, the money should immediately go back
into funding educational purposes. Afterall, many of our
educational facilities are in a state of comatose.

GN Adekunle:

But you didn’t come up with this type of write-up when
just-remanded Dibu Ojerinde was the Registrar of JAMB. So, it is
safe to say that Prof. Dibu resolved to embezzlement for someone
like you not to perceive that JAMB was making money during his own
time. As much as I agreed with some points raised in this write-up
but it is untimely, coming out at a time a Prof. that pocketed the
masses money was just remanded.

Wale Oriji:

This is exactly why I told some people that what the man is
doing at JAMB isn’t commendable because he got the reasons and why
wrong. And the hardships candidates face to write the examination
now is part of the reasons for mass failure. JAMB needs
reevaluation.

All said and done, there is an urgent need for this agency to
reinvent itself in order to fulfil the purpose for which it was
established. In a country that claims to practice federalism, there
is absolutely no reason. We should not centralize the admission
process into tertiary institutions that were not set up or funded
by the federal government. It is totally illogical for a federal
agency to control and dictate the procedure for admission into
state and private universities. But until the law establishing JAMB
is tinkered with, we are stuck for now, which is why this piece has
been rendered to proffer solutions and remedies for an obviously
flawed process.

The Ministry of Education, which has supervisory jurisdiction
over JAMB, should work out an efficient strategy that will reduce
the multiple layers of money-gulping procedures of the agency, in
order to lessen the burden of the candidates and their parents.
Education should ordinarily be an essential service, which every
nation should prioritize for the benefit of its citizens. This is a
global phenomenon that should be in the interest of all
stakeholders in the educational sector. More importantly however,
the Federal Government must make conscious efforts to decentralize
the process of admission into tertiary institutions, so that we can
truly pride ourselves on running a federation.

The totality of all the useful comments and suggestions stated
above is to the effect that there is a need for a response
mechanism such that JAMB as an agency can receive constant feedback
from all those who are affected one way or the other, with the
conduct of its affairs. The primary concern should be the interest
of the candidates, for whose benefit the agency was established in
the first place. As a starting point, the fees being paid for
examinations should cover all other protocols and procedures
relating to or connected with the admission process. Parents who
are financially distressed from the coronavirus economy, parents
who have been battered by the biting state of insecurity in the
land, who have no hope of a better tomorrow, should not be
subjected to the trauma of a cumbersome and prohibitive admission
regime. That will be a disservice to education.

#lifewithoutChristiscrisis