It Was An Error To Cancel Post-UTME – OAU VC

According to media reports, the out-going Vice Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), Ile-Ife, Professor  Bamitale Omole has said that the scrapping of post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) examination for students seeking admission into universities in the country is a monumental error.

Omole said the government decision is inimical to the concept of quality education and the quality of students being admitted into tertiary institutions in the country. He said the post -UTME exam is a quality control measure put in place by the universities to select students that meet their standard.

He said the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) conduct examination for candidates while the universities set their own standard which must be met by the applicants seeking admission. The scrapping of post-UTME is a great disservice to education of this country, he lamented.

Omole who spoke at an interactive session with jreporters in Lagos, yesterday said: “The scrapping of post-UTME test is a monumental error that could be made by any government. It is uncalled for. It is inimical to the universities effort in selecting quality students for admission.  Every year, JAMB sends one million names to OAU for admission. We have space for only 5,000 fresh students.  How do we pick the best out of the one million candidates? We set our standard through post-UTME test”.

On the allegation that he imposed his successor on the university community, the vice chancellor said it was not possible because “it is the responsibility of the University Council to appoint vice chancellor of which I am not a member; I was not a member of the search committee and the committee that shortlisted the applicants. The new vice chancellor went through the process of selection”.

On his stewardship, Omole said during his tenure, OAU was ranked first and the best University in Nigeria and the eighth in Africa by Cybermetrics Labs, leading assessors in the global ranking of universities. He said this was made possible through massive infrastructural development and research activities facilitated by his administration.

Credit: The Nation