My lord. The Member of Parliament representing Ogbomoso North/Ogbomoso South/Oriire in the House of Representatives, Mr. Olamijuwonro Alao-Akala, said more than 1.4 million students performed in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), accounting for 76 per cent of the total. said that it was not something that could be expected from the students. The applicant was unable to score up to his 200 points, which is the admission standard for most universities.
The young lawmaker, who said he was saddened by the development, said everyone should be concerned: the government, schools, parents and society.
He said the country's education system should be overhauled.
In a statement personally signed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker and son of late former Governor Adebayo Alao Akala, he said that more than 30% of students scored above the average mark in the JAMB examination. said 2016 was the last year.
“Earlier this week, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced the breakdown of student performance in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). While it is expected to generate excitement from stakeholders in the value chain, the opposite is actually the case.
“According to JAMB, 1.4 million students, or 76% of all applicants, scored below average on the exercises. It's a cause for concern for many because it shows it's below average.The operational word here is average, not great.
“Understandably, this development has drawn comments from many Nigerians who are as concerned as I am. However, it is important to properly analyze the problem and suggest effective solutions. It is important to take a few steps back.The wave of poor performance of Nigerian students in UTME did not start today.
“Since 2018, at least 74 per cent of applicants have scored below the average score of 200 on the exercises. While the latest figures are alarming, this reflects a disturbing performance pattern that began seven years ago. The last time more than 30 percent of students scored above average on the exam was in 2016, when 35 percent of applicants scored above 200. obtained.
“What this shows is that while it's easy to blame the performance of participants in this year's exercises and blame various issues such as increased access to mobile devices in the demographic, the problem runs deeper than that. and therefore needs to be addressed as a whole” with a more comprehensive lens.
“First of all, the massive failures in this year's UTME and all the exercises over the past few years don't just mean a failure for these students. It's also a sign that the education sector in this country is also failing. This shows that in order to resolve this crisis and change this reality, it is important to overhaul the country's education sector.
“Firstly, the government must, as a matter of priority, significantly increase the proportion allocated to the education sector, particularly primary and secondary education. This must be supported by a new policy plan based on specific performance targets.”
