Senate Probes Post-UME Exams Conduct

Oct 16,2011 – The Senate has ordered a probe into the legality of the post University Matriculation Examination (UME) tests being conducted by universities, before admitting students who have already written the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination.

Following a motion by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Senate mandated its committee on education to investigate the activities of universities on the issue of the conduct of post-UME tests.

In the motion, Lokpobiri said universities have breached the law setting up JAMB, which gives the body the sole responsibility of conducting examinations for admissions into tertiary institutions in the country, by subjecting applicants to the post-UME examination.

According to him: “The various universities charge fees and subject candidates to series of tests and interviews which most often take several days to conclude. This is at grave cost to parents and guardians and a clear violation of the JAMB Act. Our young children are also subjected to avoidable inconveniences and risks.”

Supporting the motion, Senator Ahmad Lawan said the action of universities and other tertiary institutions that conduct the post-UME tests is illegal.

However, the motion met opposition from Senator Ibrahim Gobir, who said the post-UME examinations should not be scrapped because people have lost confidence in the ability of JAMB to conduct credible examinations.

The committee on education agreed to conduct further investigations into the matter and report back in four weeks, to enable the Senate take a final decision on the post-UME tests.(Daily times)