By Amos Tauna
United Nigerian Youth Forum, UNYF, has noted that reducing cut off marks for admission into tertiary in 2017/2018 academic session by Joint Admission Marticulation Board, JAMB, will affect students performance in all levels of education in the country.
The forum therefore rejected the recent pronouncement of the cut off mark for 2017/2018 academic session of 120/100 cut off marks for universities and polytechnics made by Prof. Ishaq Olayede, Registrar, Joint Admission Marticulation Board, JAMB.
“We reject in totality the pronouncement of the cut off mark for 2017/2018 academic session by IJMB, registrar. 120/100 marks for universities and polytechnic, as cut off, out of 400 marks further shows the level of decay in our educational system, which represent 30 and 25 per cent respectively,” UNYF president, Abdulsalam Muhammad Kazeem, said in a statement.
The forum appreciated the effort of Prof. Ishaq Olayede, the registrar of JAMB for exposing the high level of corruption been practice in the Agency under the watch of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that is, remitting the sum of N5 billion for the year 2017 alone against 200m of over 16years of the agency establishment.
The statement issued to newsmen in Kaduna on Wednesday said, “With this development, we are sure that the level of unseriousness will increase from 20 to 78 per cent.
“Lowering the qualification entry mark to our institutions is not in tandem with new global realities, in terms of educational standard as it will led to the admission of unqualified candidate into our tertiary institutions, and it further shows that Nigeria do no give regards to excellence.
“With this development the struggle to salvage public education must be linked with the struggle to do away with this unholy pronouncement by the JAMB registrar.
“The allocation to the educational sector for 2017 is less than 10 per cent, we passionately re-appeal to ASUU to please go back to classes, because public institution belongs to the children of the masses.”
The Forum called on the federal government to give education the attention needed, adding, “If this is done, it will help in areas of infrastructure, conducive learning environment, research and teaching.
“We call on all Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provost to immediately withdraw any form of tuition fee increment be it lab fee, registration fee, bank charges, maintenance fee or fee in any form within 72 hours, because we believe that most of them enjoy free, functional and qualitative education during their days as students and even foreign scholarship.”
UNYF called on government at all level to as a matter of urgency, give education the needed attention, stressing that if that is done, it would help reduce the danger ahead of the nation.
“A free, functional and quality education is possible in Nigerian, only if we jointly fight for it and the time is now,” the forum advised.
