2024 UTME: Alao-Akala seeks total overhaul of Nigeria’s education system

For the lawmaker representing Ogbomoso North/Ogbomoso South/Oriire Federal constituency, Olamijuwon Alao-Akala, the performance of students in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is not encouraging.

From the report, over 1.4 million students, representing 76 percent of total applicants, did not score up to 200. Most tertiary institutions peg the cut-off mark at 200 for admission. The lawmaker, who said he felt sad about the development, added that everyone — government, school, parents, and society — needs to be concerned.

He, therefore, called for a total overhaul of the education system in the country. In a statement he signed, the All Progressives Congress (APC) legislator and son of the late former governor of Oyo State, Adebayo Alao-Akala, revealed that 2016 was the last time more than 30 percent of students scored above average in the JAMB examination.

In the statement, titled ‘JAMB 2024 Performance Worries Me,’ the former council chairman said, “Earlier this week, the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) released the breakdown of students’ performance in this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

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“While an announcement like this is expected to elicit excitement from parents, students, teachers, and other stakeholders in the education value chain, the reverse has been the case.

“According to JAMB, 1.4 million students, representing 76 percent of total applicants, scored below average in the exercise.

“This figure has become a source of concern for many, as it indicates that approximately eight out of every 10 students selected at random performed below average.

“The operational word here being average, not excellent. “Naturally, this development has elicited comments from many Nigerians across the board who, like me, find it disturbing.

“But to properly dissect the issue and proffer effective solutions, it’s important that we take a couple of steps back.

“This wave of poor performance by Nigerian students in UTME did not start today.

“Since 2018, at least 74 percent of applicants have scored below the average mark of 200 in the exercise, an indication that while the latest figure is concerning, it’s only the latest mark in a disturbing pattern of poor performance that started seven years ago.

“The last time more than 30 percent of students scored above average in the exercise was in 2016, when 35 percent of applicants scored above 200.

“What this indicates is that while it’s easy to blame participants in this year’s exercise for their performance and point fingers at various issues like the rise in access to mobile devices among their demography, the problem is deeper than that and, as such, must be addressed from a more comprehensive lens.

“To start with, the mass failure in this year’s UTME and every other exercise over the past few years does not only represent a failure for these students; it’s also an indication that the country’s education sector has also failed.

“What this indicates is that 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 percentage of allocation to the education sector, especially at the primary and secondary levels. This funding must be backed by a renewed policy plan that reflects the current status of things in the sector and is based on realistic performance objectives in the short and long term.

“Similarly, the government should carry out a comprehensive review to ensure that teachers in schools across the country are qualified to teach students.

“This must be followed up with a comprehensive review of the remuneration for teachers to keep them motivated and a revamp of facilities in schools to ensure the environment is conducive for teachers to teach and students to learn.

“The government must extend its regulatory powers over education to privately-owned schools to ensure the standard of education meets an acceptable benchmark, students are treated properly, and the environment is designed to stir a sense of commitment to learning.

“Finally, parents must play their part by creating an enabling environment for their wards at home and moderating the access they have to the internet, prioritizing educational content over peripherals.

“It is only when we have all these and all stakeholders play their part that we can effectively curb this pattern of poor performance among students and change the state of education in the country for the better,” he advised.