THE Association of Vice-Chancellors in Nigeria has warned the Senate not to be misled by some stakeholders in the education sector in the country, in view of its recent comment on the conduct of the post- Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) tests by the nation’s universities, saying the test is constitutional.
Speaking during a press briefing marking the 27th convocation ceremony of the University of Ilorin on Monday, the chairman of the association, Professor Isiaq Oloyede, said universities had the constitutional right to conduct and admit candidates based on the Act establishing them.
Oloyede, who is also the vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, said there was university autonomy everywhere in the world, giving them the right to decide on who to admit, "because we are not under military rule.”
He noted that the post-UTME had helped to improve the quality of those admitted, adding that the aptitude tests conducted by the universities were only meant to test the ability of the students to receive university education and their preparedness and not to re-examine them on different subjects like JAMB.
He stressed that the association had taken up the issue and had written to the Senate on the need to know that “we have the right to be heard on the issue just like the JAMB had had their submission in the Senate.”
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students has called on the Federal Government to proscribe the Post-UTME.
NANS President, Comrade Dauda Mohammed, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, described the Post-UTME as extortionate and designed to milk resources from unsuspecting tertiary education seekers.
He said it contradicted the essence of the law which made statutory provisions for the conduct of matriculation exams for entry into all universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
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