the 2005 post ume screening test- matters arising
DESCRIPTION
Candidates who are morally and academically bankrupt score extremely high marks in the JAMB examination while academically sound candidates only manage very low scores, thanks to corrupt JAMB officials who turn blind eyes to high level malpractice but deliberately harass the innocent in their efforts to extort some money from them.TRANSCRIPT
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The 2005 Post UME Screening Test- Matters Arising
THE ALPHA EDUCATION FOUNDATION
(Dedicated to Excellence in Education)
Author
Tosanwumi Otokunefor Department of Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt Nigeria
E-mail: [email protected]
WHY THE POST UME SCREENING TEST? On Saturday, May 8, 2004, the NTA network
news at 9 00 pm transmitted to millions of
viewing Nigerians, footages of gross
malpractices in the then just concluded JAMB
examination for selection of candidates into the
Nigerian Universities. That was the year 2004
edition of the JAMB exercise. The malpractices
included
extortion of
money ranging
from N300.00
to N2,000.00
from candidates
in exchange for
permission to
write the
examinations
outside the hall
with the help of mercenaries who had been
hired in advance. Students who fail to pay are
punished with harassment and collection of
their answer sheets before the expiration of the
time allowed. In many centres, examinations
did not start until 5 pm. The latest trick these
days is to communicate the correct answers to
the candidates in the halls through the GSM,
usually with the connivance of the invigilators
and supervisors who had collected gratifications
from the erring candidates. A colleague of
mine walked into one of these malpractice
situations in the same year 2004 JAMB edition
when she went to church at 6 00 pm on that
fateful day for a regular weekend church
activity somewhere in Port Harcourt totally
oblivious of the fact that it was JAMB
examination day. What she saw was beyond
comprehension. Within the church premises,
under every
shade, beside
parked cars and
within the
children’s hall
were candidates
writing the
JAMB
examination
illegally. This
scenario is typical of JAMB examination as it is
conducted today, but it was not so at the
beginning. What went wrong may be debatable
but the repercussions are obvious.
Candidates who are morally and academically
bankrupt score extremely high marks while
academically sound candidates only manage
very low scores, thanks to corrupt JAMB
officials who turn blind eyes to high level
malpractice but deliberately harass the innocent
Candidates who are morally and academically
bankrupt score extremely high marks in the JAMB
examination while academically sound candidates
only manage very low scores, thanks to corrupt
JAMB officials who turn blind eyes to high level
malpractice but deliberately harass the innocent in
their efforts to extort some money from them.
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in their efforts to extort some money from them.
It is obvious that, the unqualified candidate not
only gets into the Universities first, but prevents
the truly qualified ones from getting in because
of the resulting high cut-off-marks. This
situation places excruciating burden on the
Universities who expend scarce resources on
candidates who in all probability are unlikely to
graduate on the long run. This is the Crux of
the Matter.
THE POST UME SCREENING TEST The Post UME screening test attempts to
reverse this situation. In order to succeed, it
must achieve JAMB’s objective of assessing
candidate’s knowledge in the subject areas,
while avoiding JAMB’s pitfalls, thereby
reintroducing
credibility in the
selection process
into the Nation’s
Universities. A
case study of the
Post UME
screening test
conducted by the
University of Port Harcourt shows some
important features. The test consists of two
sections namely; a main section which is largely
an abridged version of the JAMB examination
with three core subjects and the use of English
language in a multiple-choice format and a
short essay section designed to test candidate’s
ability to express his or herself in writing. The
multiple choice questions were selected from
past UME questions which are widely available.
The entire examination is answered in a single
compact answer sheet with the essay on one
side and the objective answers on the other.
The examination was centrally coordinated to
ensure uniformity in conduct, with special
emphasis on accreditation of students, sitting
arrangement, invigilation, starting and finishing
time. Another notable feature of the
examination was the prompt grading of the
examination scripts and the compilation of
results within 48 hours. The whole process was
designed to ensure that the examination is free
and fair to all with participating students given a
level playing field. The invigilators were all
seasoned academic staff and senior
administrative staff who would either not
receive bribe because of their integrity, or could
not afford to, because of the stringent
supervision by the centre coordinators. The
grading of the examinations scripts was
promptly carried out by dedicated staff who
worked far into the night to ensure that the
day’s job was completed and results released
within 48hrs. The success of the exercise is a
testimony to the zeal, determination and
commitment of the academic staff to ensure that
only the best candidates were selected at the end
of the process. The results show that their
efforts were amply rewarded.
RESULTS OF THE SCREENING EXERCISE: The results of the Post-UME screening test can
only be
appreciated if the
grades were
compared to the
JAMB-UME
scores, and they
were truly
amazing! Tables
1 and 2 below
show the scores of the 20 best UME candidate
candidates in the Post-UME examination and
the scores of the best 20 Post-UME candidates
in the UME respectively for the department of
Pharmacy. Among the best 20 candidates in
the JAMB-UME examination whose scores
ranged from 279 to 296, none obtained the pass
mark of 50%, that is, 200 out of 400, in the
Post-UME screening test (table 1). In fact, eight
out of these 20 high flying JAMB candidates
actually scored less than 25%, that is, below
100 out of the possible 400 in the screening
exercise. A remarkable observation in this first
Post-UME screening exercise is that the highest
performing JAMB candidate in the UME
examination with a score of 296 scored only a
meagre 30 points in the POST-UME screening
test!
A remarkable observation in this first Post-
UME screening exercise was that the highest
performing JAMB candidate in this department
with a score of 296 in the UME examination
only managed a score of 30 out of 400 points in
the Post-UME screening test!
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On the other hand, the 20 best candidates in the
Post-UME screening test with scores ranging from
256 to 326 had relatively low UME scores ranging
from 203-272 (table 2). The two best performing
candidates in the Post-UME screening exercise in
the department of pharmacy scored only 211
and 203 in JAMB and obviously would not
have stood a chance of getting admitted if the
JAMB scores were used for admission. None
or only a few of them at best would have been
admitted if the performance in the UME was
used. This is the consistent observation in all
the faculties and departments of the University
of Port Harcourt, where candidates with the
highest scores in the UME examination failed to
perform in the Post-UME screening test. The
two highest scoring candidates in the UME
examination could only manage scores of 30
and 52
respectively in
the Post UME
test. This is
atrocious.
One of the short
essays written by
a candidate for
the department of management in the faculty of
Management sciences was scanned and
reproduced below in the candidate’s own hand
writing for the benefit of the doubting
Thomases (figure 1).
It clearly confirms the inability of the student to
express himself in English. The writing is very
bad, the tenses were mixed up, and the spellings
cannot be comprehended. If a primary school
pupil writes like this, he would not pass the first
school leaving certificate examination. Who
then expects a University to admit such a
candidate? This is just the tip of the iceberg.
The professors grading the scripts could not
help but read aloud some of these essays. These
were really bad candidates and I can not stop
wondering who wrote the primary school,
secondary school (junior and senior) and the
UME examinations for them.
More revealing
still was the result
of the
comparative
analysis of the
Post-UME result
vis-à-vis the
UME for seven
departments with a total candidate strength of
9,428. When the candidates who scored 200
and above in the UME were ranked into four
Table 1: Performance of the
best 20 UME candidates in the
Post -UME screening exercise
(Department of Pharmacy)
S/No Reg. Number UME PUME
1. 52597046CD 296 30 2. 52604807GF 293 52 3. 52608062FC 292 144 4. 52607035FE 289 196 5. 52616773BC 289 166 6. 52453740DH 288 88 7. 52595581FD 288 60 8. 53179568AJ 287 144 9. 52637487EH 286 108 10. 52275548EG 285 120 11. 53587373DJ 285 52 12. 52578483DE 285 40 13. 52594408IA 284 140 14. 52630465GE 284 96 15. 53179567BC 283 124 16. 52592118IJ 283 88 17. 5260559 JA 282 168 18. 52578956GE 281 168 19. 52638942EH 281 148 20. 52568058HF 281 122
Table 2: Performance of the
best 20 Post -UME candidates
in JAMB’S UME (Department
of Pharmacy)
S/No Reg. Number PUME UME
1. 52567492CH 326 211 2. 52637105II 306 203 3. 53282265CE 296 268 4. 52189064CD 296 267 5. 52922085EH 294 231
6. 52502810HD 290 244 7. 52143120GJ 288 276 8. 53245399AI 282 245 9. 52705420CH 280 236 10. 52273054FJ 276 263 11. 52634247GH 272 266 12. 52591314FA 272 214 13. 52170672AG 268 272 14. 52598037FH 268 271 15. 52617212FO 268 226 16. 52954707FE 264 229 17. 5249907FH 264 228
18. 52595913CH 260 248 19. 52786331AG 260 203 20. 52536138JG 256 251
The two best performing candidates in the Post-
UME screening exercise in the department of
Pharmacy scored only 211 and 203 respectively
in JAMB and obviously would not have stood a
chance of getting admitted if the JAMB scores
were used for admission.
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groups based on their UME scores, it was
observed that candidates who scored between
200 and 225 marks (that is, the lowest ranking)
in the UME recorded the highest percentage
pass in the Post-UME screening test with the
exception of Sociology and Management.
Furthermore, when the results of the seven
departments were combined and analyzed using
regression analysis it was observed that there
was an inverse correlation between percentage
of students who passed the Post-UME screening
test and performance in the UME examination
with a correlation coefficient of over 93%.
When a similar analysis was carried out for the
department of Electrical Engineering with a
population of over 1,000 candidates, an inverse
correlation coefficient of over 98% was
observed. In simple language it means that the
‘best’ students selected by the UME were
actually the ‘worst’ by the Post UME standard.
The Bar-charts in figure 2 tell the whole story.
HOW COULD THIS BE? Two important factors need to interact to
produce the observed results. First, the poor
candidates must be able to cheat massively in
order to obtain such high scores! Secondly, the
good candidates must be seriously handicapped
to perform so poorly in the UME examination.
We believe that these two observations are
linked to a single variable, that is, the officiating
invigilators, supervisors and coordinators.
Though many of the candidates were
determined to cheat right from the beginning,
their desires would not have been fulfilled if the
invigilators were not compromised. Many
invigilators sets target
of income they would
realize at the end of
every JAMB
examination exercise.
They even go further to
make budgets based on
the expected illegal
income. In order to achieve their financial
targets, the invigilators not only accept the
gratifications offered by those who are
determined to cheat, but actually determine how
much should be paid for the various categories
of malpractice. Unfortunately, they also try to
impose these illegal fines on the genuine
hardworking candidates who are not interested
in
examination malpractice. Where the candidates
resist, their answer sheets were confiscated
while others are writing, or they are made to
submit their scripts before the time allotted
expires. They are
further subjected to
other forms of
harassment to further
destabilize them all in
an attempt to make
them succumb to the
extortion. The result is
that the good candidates would perform below
their normal capacity while the cheats would
smile at their good fortunes.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 1. We must consolidate the gains of the Post
UME screening exercise: The initial
success of the Post UME screening exercise
(Figure 1 A scanned copy of a short essay written by a successful JAMB candidate (above): below, a typed version of the hand written essay. This candidate scored 287 in the UME examination conducted by JAMB and would have been admitted to read Management in Uniport, but for the intervention of the Post UME test where he or she managed to score only 64 (sixty four) out of 400) How I spent my last holiday I was very greateful when my perants had told me that I will spent my holiday in Abuja with my cosine. I have went there is a lost of things I have withness like Obasanjo resistance where all the our government workers has doing there meeting. many hotels like bolingo towers & many of them I have staying with my cosine and he is very greateful that I am an obident child and when I decied to coming back I have brought me a lost of thing that I will go back to school if I got Admission in Uniport.
Standardization of the Post-UME
screening process both in structure
and in content should be loudly
advocated if it is to be considered an
acceptable complement to the UME.
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in some institutions should not generate a
state of euphoria in the University
community yet. While many Universities
obviously fared well in the first edition of
the Post-UME screening exercise, there
were very disturbing reports about gross
malpractice in the conduct of the exercise in
others. In some, the results were not
released for a long time giving time for will
students to seek out the officers in charge
who were alleged to be asking for up to a
hundred thousand Naira for scores to be
upgraded. Others conducted written
screening tests consisting of a few questions
in current affairs that had no bearing at all
on the student’s field of study. A few more
introduced similar tests in a computer based
format. Some universities did not conduct
any Post-UME exercise. The current state
of the Post-UME exercise may be described
as a mixed blessing at best and a state of
total anarchy at the worst. JAMB started
well but has ended where it is today. The
problems that crippled JAMB are still with
us. The hordes of candidates that invaded
the campus before the screening test, with
bags of money, looking for help tells the
entire story. Even after the completion of
the examination and the release of results,
they were still parading the campus, but this
time they were more desperate. The Post-
UME screening exercise is the beginning of
a process. It has the obvious advantages of
catering for a smaller number of candidates
with the administrators having greater
control over the officials who oversee the
process. What will become of it tomorrow
depends on how it is handled today. It is
not yet ‘Uhuru’!
Standardization of the screening process
both in structure and in content should be
loudly advocated for it to be considered an
acceptable complement to the UME. At the
University of Port Harcourt it has been
structured after the pattern and content of
the UME but contained much less
questions consisting of three core courses
and the use of English. In this maiden
edition, an essay component has been
added to test the candidates’ ability to
express themselves in the language of
instruction in the Nigerian Universities,
that is, English. Some Universities with
very high reputation conducted oral
interviews that had no bearing on the
candidates area of specialization. In
addition, such oral interviews are more
likely to be subject to arbitrariness and
subjectivity since the outcome may be
influenced by the personality of the
candidate and the disposition of members
of the interviewing panel.
Structures to minimize malpractice before,
during and after the conduct of the Post-
UME examinations must be put in place,
reviewed frequently, and strictly adhered
to. People were ready to pay upwards of
N100, 000 in the hope of getting their poor
grades upgraded. There is an institution
where this was rumoured to have happened
even at the maiden edition of the exercise.
There is a need to maintain the credibility
of the process by the use of external
monitors from other stake holders in the
higher education system, including parents,
NUC, JAMB, NGOs and the News media.
The Post-UME screening process should
not be shrouded in secrecy; the more
transparent it is the more acceptable it is
bound to be.
The introduction of concessional admission
during the selection process which permits
poorly performing candidates to be
admitted ahead of much better candidates
must be stopped since it is an illegality.
The admission criteria supplied by NUC
recognized three categories of candidates
namely, merit, catchment and
Educationally Less Developed States
(ELDS). The admission process must be
monitored and seen to comply with laid
down rules so that the gains of the rigorous
screening exercise may not be frittered
away by this illegal act. Sometimes, up to
50% of an institutions admissions may be
made up of the concessional admissions
which in not only illegal, but immoral and
unjust. It appears that JAMB, the body
mandated to oversee this process is either
unable to or unwilling to do so because of
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incompetence or corruption since they all
benefit from the illegal concessions.
2. JAMB must restructure and streamline
its operations to remain relevant in the
initial selection process.
The number of people currently taking the
JAMB examinations is too large and
unmanageable. This is obviously one of
the reasons for JAMB’s inability to handle
the examinations effectively.
Most of the candidates sitting for JAMB
are not qualified, hence their tendency to
participate in examination malpractice.
Since the Universities require a minimum
of 5 relevant credits to register, this should
be the same qualification for the JAMB
examinations
There is a need for JAMB to synchronize
the commencement time for the
examination nationwide. Non
synchronization allow for question papers
to be smuggled out of one centre, solved
and answers communicated to students in
centres that
commence their
examinations later
Many of the JAMB
officials especially
those that are
selected to act as
supervisors are
corrupt and
incompetent. The
admissions officers that serve as JAMB’s
liaison officers in the Universities do not
normally participate in the examination
process in the Universities where they
serve, and hence may not be the best
persons to coordinate the examinations.
The invigilators are responsible for most of
the malpractices that mar the UME
conducted by JAMB. They have no
allegiance to either the Universities or the
JAMB establishment. They should be
selected under more stringent rules.
Many centres, especially those in the
malpractice prone zones should be
completely eliminated, and the candidates
made to pay by travelling longer distances
to centres that are more compliant.
Invigilators should be paid a more
reasonable remuneration in contrast to what
is currently given which appear to be ‘an
incentive’ to indulge in malpractice
IN CONCLUSION: The Post-UME screening test has not been
introduced to replace JAMB but to correct the
ills associated not only with the UME
conducted by JAMB, but also with the
malpractice riddled senior secondary school
certificate examinations. It has succeeded, at
least in some institutions, in producing an
authentic ranking of candidates applying for
admission into the Nigerian university which is
different from the one that emerged after the
JAMB exercise. It is believed that this will
offer the genuine and qualified candidates a
golden opportunity to fulfil their life’s ambition
of continuing their studies in a University, an
ambition that has
hitherto been dashed by
the high level of
malpractice in JAMB.
The intervention of the
Post-UME screening
test we believe will
further encourage the
hard working and
intelligent Nigerian
student to continue to work hard knowing that
their efforts will ultimately be crowned by a
brilliant performance in the Post UME which
would guarantee them a place in the University.
The genuine candidates are now looking
forward and working towards it because they
know that herein lies their salvation! This effort
should be commended and encouraged since it
may ultimately bring solution to some of the
myriads of problems plaguing the Universities
including examination malpractice, fake
certificates, prostitution and cultism.
Concession which sometimes makes
up to 50% of an institutions
admissions permits poorly
performing candidates to be admitted
ahead of much better candidates. It is
not only illegal, but immoral and unjust and hence must be stopped
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Figure 2: Relationship between the UME scores and percentage pass in the Post-UME
exercise in seven departments at the University of Port Harcourt. Inserts: Regression analysis
for all seven departments (comprehensive) and electrical engineering department only
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UME SCORES AND PERCENTAGE PASS IN THE POST UME
EXERCISE IN SEVEN DEPARTMENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
3520
0-22
5
226-
250
251-
275
≥ 27
6
200-
225
226-
250
251-
275
≥ 27
6
200-
225
226-
250
251-
275
≥ 27
6
200-
225
226-
250
251-
275
≥ 27
6
200-
225
226-
250
251-
275
≥ 27
6
200-
225
226-
250
251-
275
≥ 27
6
200-
225
226-
250
251-
275
≥ 27
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CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING
ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING
SOCIOLOGY PHARMACY MEDICINE ACCOUNTINGMANAGEMENT
UME SCORE RANGES
% P
AS
S A
T P
OS
T-U
ME
R2 = 0.9836
0
5
10
15
20
25
200-225 226-250 251-275 ≥ 276
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
% P
AS
S A
T P
OS
T-U
ME
R2 = 0.9398
0
5
10
15
20
25
200-225 226-250 251-275 ≥ 276
COMPREHENSIVE
% P
AS
S A
T P
OS
T-U
ME