NANS Rejects JAMB’s Admission Cut-Off Marks

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) on Thursday rejected the cut-off points for admission into tertiary institutions, describing the reduction as a gross misplacement of priority and exercise in futility.

NANS Vice President Olamide Odumosu, spoke at a protest by the group at the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Bwari, on Thursday saying that the reduction in the cut-off points would only lead to corruption as well as worsen the level of academic performance of students.

He added that NANS had supported the present administration in its fight against corruption, but the recent development was an act of exploitation on Nigerian students.

“JAMB in conjunction with Vice Chancellors and Provosts is exploiting Nigerian students, thereby reducing the level of education in the country.

“JAMB giving us 120 as a cut-off mark for Nigeria universities is a slap to our country,” he said.

Odumosu added that the association would mobilise students across the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to stage a protest if nothing was done to all of their plights.

Inscriptions like: ‘NANS say no to 120 cut-off marks,’ ‘say no to corruption in our education sector,’ ‘say no to post UTME fraud,’ were written on the placards carried by the group.

In the same vein, the National President of the association, Chinonso Obasi, in a statement condemned the cut-off marks reduction by JAMB and stakeholders saying that the review was uncalled for.

He added that the inability of any student to meet the cut-off points was a function of outright indolence that should not be encouraged.

According to him, the general phenomenon is that Nigerian graduates are not employable, lowering of standard will translate to a disastrous outcome in the future by churning out young people, who cannot fit into the labour demands and expectations of the 21st century.

“Nigerian youths are intelligent and willing to learn because of the enabling environment provided by tertiary institutions abroad.

“The 21st century is driven by innovation and competitiveness.

“So, lowering the entering level into tertiary institutions will further contribute to reducing the productivity and peak performance of young people seeking admission into the country’s higher institutions of learning,” the statement read.

Obasi decried the high level of inconsistencies in policy formulation and implementation in the educational sector and called on government to mainstream and benchmark global best practices in educational policy formulation and implementation.