LECTURERS nationwide have criticised the newly announced minimum acceptable Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board 140 score as a demeaning threshold that can plunge the education sector into turmoil.
The 140 mark is 30 per cent of the total 400 mark.
On July 18, 2024, JAMB and other stakeholders in the education sector pegged the minimum benchmark score for admission into universities at 140 and 100 for polytechnics and colleges of education. Also, JAMB in an X message while describing the 140 mark said, “There’s no such thing as ‘cut-off mark’ in the admission process to tertiary institutions in Nigeria, what’s obtainable is minimum tolerable score determinable by individual institutions.”
On the contrary, President, of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke said it was descending admitting students with scores as low as 30 per cent. “So why are we descending to this level where universities are admitting candidates who scored as low as 30 per cent in their exams? When you look at reputable institutions like the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University, they won’t accept anything less than 200. Yet, some universities, especially newer private ones, admit students with scores as low as 140.
This situation is widespread across the country, not just in the north. Many schools are lowering their admission standards.” He complained about the quality of teachers at the secondary school level, saying, “My concern isn’t just about JAMB scores. It’s about the quality of education from primary to secondary school. How can we expect quality teaching when teachers are paid as little as N16,000 a month in government schools? This is a national disaster. Nigeria urgently needs to declare a state of emergency in education.
“Back in the day, you couldn’t even dream of getting into a good school with a score below 200. But now, government schools at all levels are struggling, and admissions are increasingly going to private institutions that operate on a cash-and-carry basis. If action isn’t taken soon, our universities will continue to decline.”
