Relative success of 2018 UTME masks carrying capacity challenges

The 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has been a relative success in comparison to 2017’s.

In 2017, candidates eager to register for the 2017/18 season of the UTME were frustrated by the existence of few Computer Based Test (CBT) registration centres and slow internet connection at these centres.

For 2018, reports show that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board-administered UTME took place smoothly in Lagos and Ogun States and was well monitored by Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). No hitches were recorded.

Some candidates who sat for the second and third sessions of UTME in Abuja commended the board for a hitch-free examination while some complained about the challenges of biometric machines not accepting their fingerprints.

This relative success masks seething volcano in Nigeria’s tertiary education space. As at February 7, 2018, JAMB stated that over 1.4 million candidates had registered for the 2018 UTME across the country.

Despite JAMB’s effort to make the e-registration process smooth, available data show that in the event that these candidates registered successfully, sat for the exams and qualified for admission, they were not all going to be admitted into tertiary institutions in Nigeria due to limited carrying capacity.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on February 20, 2017, released data on JAMB for 2010-2016, which showed rise in the number of applications and ebb in the carrying capacity of Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

In 2015, Dibu Ojerinde, former registrar of JAMB, said the carrying capacity of universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, among others all over the country was less than 800,000. The same year, 1.47 million candidates sat for the examination.

Additionally, data from JAMB showed that a total of 11.7 million applications were received between 2010 and 2016, while a total of 2.7 million students were admitted across the 36 states and the FCT between 2010 and 2015. This means that on average, only 23 percent of candidates who sought admission to tertiary institutions were admitted while 77 percent were not.

As JAMB perfects the use of its e-registration and CBT centres, therefore, all hands need to be on deck to improve access to tertiary education institutions in Nigeria.

STEPHEN ONYEKWELU