Matters Arising as Universities Conduct Post-UME

By Msonter Anzaa

The tertiary sub-sector of the Nigerian educational system has come alive again with lots of activities. This is so because the most expected and yet most anxious moment in its perennial cycle of offering admissions, processing undergraduates and dismissing them has commenced. It is obvious that universities are still grossly undercapacitated and under-funded. This piece does not concern itself with those who would be admitted and how they would fare in school. It concerns itself with the plight of the voiceless and marginalized UME or UTME candidates who would not gain admission and the ordeals they would go through in the unending ritual of admission seeking.

Nigeria is a place where nothing happens. It is a place where a man waits to assume leadership before calling summits of all kinds to find out what the problems are. Every one knows that our universities are too poor in quantity and quality to offer any useful education. But we, or rather our leaders, pretend that if we have one federal university per village, we would have solved the trouble of lack of space for qualified candidates. That is why though the federal government of Nigeria does not have any particularly good history of maintaining its schools, it has shown an amazing appetite for establishing nine new ones. The initial projection was that the new federal universities would resume admission in September. It was probably thought rapture would take place on 21st May as predicted by Family Radio International, then the government would not have to bother about meeting any deadlines. Unfortunately, it did not happen and so the take-off date has been shifted indefinitely.

Seeking admission into the university is a dreaded activity among candidates. The JAMB has a monopoly of the UTME and can do and undo. In its attempt to eliminate exam malpractice in its exam, it has introduced a number of initiatives that have also raised the cost of conducting the exam. This may explain why the cost of the UME form rises almost every year. It may sound incredible to men of power that the mere cost of the form alone prevents some candidates from going to school. If officials of government doubt this, it will only show how disconnected they are from the reality of life in their country. A candidate who crosses the hurdle of cost and also performs well in the UTME would no doubt be desperate to – and should – be offered admission. This does not happen and often a number of them fall by the roadside, increasing the army of idle and discontented minds; something that leads to a proportionate increase in poverty and insecurity.

To add to the cross of the UME is the post-UME also called aptitude test. This one is conducted by the universities themselves as a way of determining those truly fit for admission. It was adopted obviously because the level of confidence in the UME had dropped due to the corruption of the examination process. The aptitude test would have been a nice idea except that it does not address the fundamental issue of corruption and indiscipline in exams. The issue of lack of confidence in an exam is not solved by duplicating it. It is solved by strengthening institutions and applying the law on erring individuals. But the post-UTME has added to the cost of seeking university admission. Candidates have had to travel from all over the country to their university campuses to sit for the test. The House of Representatives thought this was not fair and called for the abolition of the test. But was that not just too little coming from a house that is truly representative of the people including admission seekers? The fundamental issue of funding that would reduce the characteristic strikes, ensure steady execution of academic calendars and enhance the quality of education, remains unaddressed.

Another albatross hanging down the necks of admission seekers is lack of access to information. Sometimes information about the admission process at the applied university is not available to candidates. I know of a state university that before now, would just make the announcement on the state radio during the weekend and expect the laborious process of paying at the selected banks, applying on the internet and accreditation at the various departments to be finished in one week. The difficulty here was that the state radio was often not received beyond the state capital. Second, the selected bank branches were all located in the state capital. Applicants had to travel from their various states to the capital to make payment thus leading to the formation of forbidden crowds at the banks. As they sweated and cursed in the sun, they were also aware of the possibility of not being admitted.

When finally – after typing, canceling and retyping the names – universities release the admission list, how many of those certified fit by the JAMB and confirmed by the universities find a place on it? Few; very few. This is preceded by long months of intense lobbying, bribery, sexual scandals and bare-toothed extortion. In the end it is the helpless candidates who are exploited. Frustration, desperation and hopelessness become rooted in them. Who will rescue them from the slavery inherent in the admission-seeking process? Meanwhile the children of those in government who should know – and who know – that the system needs an overhaul are sent abroad to the best schools, often from proceeds of abused governance processes.

It is painfully hypocritical that the government of Nigeria seems unable to establish a relationship between these levels of frustration and low levels of patriotism among the people it loves to call leaders of tomorrow. In a Nationalism class, the lecturer had asked who was ready to die for Nigeria. No one agreed. Even those who were less severe in the expression of their condemnation of the nation’s leaders admitted that as it was, Nigeria was not worth dying for. These are the individuals whom the government of Nigeria wants to make patriotic by radio jingles that send empty, hypocritically sarcastic messages of hope to the public. The government is more interested in being seen as working than really doing any work. It creates the impression that the task of governance is so complex that individuals should not bother when things go wrong, but rather be grateful that they have not grown worse. This is not the whole truth anyway.

Now as its young ones begin the process of seeking admission into schools; as they continue to seek opportunities for their education, and as they attempt to develop their talents and acquire skills for the salvation of this nation, they have cried out for help in their voices beaten by both sun and rain. But will the government of Nigeria hear their voices, see their tears or share their pain?

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