15th July, 2015
The dwindling state of education in Nigeria hit a new low on Tuesday when the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) and its stakeholders agreed to peg the cut-off mark for admission into universities at 180 and that of Polytechnic and Colleges of Education at 150.
Many Nigerians took to social media to express their disgust at the new cut-off mark as well as the dwindling state of Nigeria’s education especially for students seeking admission to tertiary institutions.
Many blamed social media, entertainment and poor education standard as causes for this dismal run. With apologises to Ghanaian writer Ayi Kwei Armah, it is safe to assume that “The Brilliant Ones Are Not Yet Born”.
Below are some responses to JAMB’s decision.
“180 out of 400 marks to gain admission into the university? When some of us took the pioneer JAMB examination in 1978, I never saw any candidate with such ridiculous score. If there were, they had no business being admitted to read any course in any university. And those exams were harder than what we have now! Not only have times changed, JAMB has changed too! I wish prospective candidates good luck o,” wrote Sunny Akhigbe on PM News.
Jacuapo wrote: “180, 150….I no blame Jamb at all….When its Davido and Jogodo all the youths spend their time listening to. How won’t Jamb lower the score to this atrocious level. Na wa o!”
On Twitter, Karo wrote: “JAMB 180 cut-off mark. That just propagates a mindset of mediocrity. Students will aim to get 45%”
@lamimoyin marvels at the inability of students to score 200. “So people cannot score 200 out of 400 again in JAMB?? This is RIDICULOUS.”
Wale Micaiah believes Nigeria cannot compete globally if JAMB cut-off mark continues to drop. “But if we want to compete with the rest of the world by producing quality graduates…this must Stop Now! #JAMB #UTME #EducationNGR
Nnamdi, @_crany was more hilarious in his analogy of JAMB. “Even the people that used JAMB/POST UME runs to enter university are complaining about the reduced cut off mark..”
@sambioye questioned the essence of JAMB if students performances determines the cut-off mark. “If the pass mark is only determined by the general performance of the students then what does the exam body stand for? #JAMB.”
Attamah Jacobson O, @obsonattamah thinks JAMB’s decision was not the best for Nigeria’s education. “JAMB why lower cut off mark now? How will that revamp the already dying educational sector in tandem with the needed push to attain good standard?”
Justin Ijeh wrote: “Still on JAMB, I would love to interview the Registrar. How does lowering the passmark improve quality? Is there an urgent need for matriculating numbers to grow?”
“Jamb cut-off mark is 180. And that’s the solution to tackling mass failure and a messy system? We are in deep shit,” a furious @ebonyoma wrote on Twitter.