Tolulope Akande-Sadipe, a member of the House of Representatives representing the Oluyole Federal Constituency, has recommended that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) extend the validity of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to three years.
She made the announcement in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, on Friday, adding that the law was introduced on the House of Representatives floor on March 16, 2022.
According to Olamilekan Olusada, the lawmaker’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, the bill, titled A Bill for an Act To Amend The Joint Admission And Matriculation Board (Establishment, Etc) Act, 2021 and other Related Matters, urged the House to look into increasing the number of years JAMB results will be valid for.
The proposed change for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the entity that conducts the examination, will improve its operation, according to Akande-Sadipe, who chairs the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs.
The congressman stated that while the yearly examination is beneficial in identifying applicants who are equipped for the demanding work of studying in a collegiate setting, having a year valid score has been burdensome, misleading, and concerning to the average Nigerian.
“Most entrance exams, whether academic or otherwise, last more than a year,” she explained. Examinations like IELTS, SATS, GRE, and other well-known exams are valid for three or four years and have proven to be among the best.
“The Bill proposes to extend the validity of JAMB results from one year to three years,” Akande-Sadipe explained.
Candidates could be admitted to universities three years after taking the UTME, according to Akande-Sadipe, who stressed that this will save many Nigerians the cost of acquiring UTME forms each year if the bill is adopted and signed into law.
After the plenary, the lawmaker explained why she supports extending score validity beyond one academic year, one of which is to reduce the expense of administering the exam.
She also mentioned that it would allow candidates to plan, project, and choose which colleges they wanted to attend.
She added that it would also allow candidates to choose what to study, as well as reduce the examination’s logistical requirements.
It will decrease the uncertainty surrounding applications and admissions, as well as dramatically lower the number of candidates each year without compromising the exam’s quality, she said.
“It is our obligation to legislate; to develop legislation that would alleviate Nigerians’ hardships,” she remarked. On the floor, I raised a critical issue that we need to look into while changing the JAMB Act.”
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