By Uji Abdullahi iliyasu
Abuja
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said it has remitted N7.8 billion to Federal Government coffers from the 2016 University and Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME).
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this when a delegation from national officers council of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) paid him a visit at the board headquarters in Bwari, FCT.
Oloyede dismissed the speculated N5.2billion as amount remitted to FG in 2016 saying “The board paid in N7.8 billion to federal government and not N5.2 billion.”
He said the board would work towards ensuring that it meets the needs of the sector and sustain education standard in the country.
He called for cooperation among stakeholders in the education sector in order to raise standard.
“Let us work together and push government to do the needful so that education would be where it ought to be.
“When we identify obstacles, we could push government to amend some areas to enhance the sector.
“I do not see why we should have more than four credits before one can get into college of education, forgetting that it created an opportunity for people like us in the past.
“I assure you that UTME score does not determine the quality of one’s education; it is the environment that makes the difference obvious by segregating institutions.”
Oloyede challenged the officers on the need to officially make a case for National Council of Education, which he said was made up of commissioners of education, to review the number of credits to be attained by intending candidates for colleges of education.
He said the board was ready to work with unions to set up a task force that would check irregularities that may cripple the sub-sector.
Earlier, the president of COEASU, Mr Nuhu Ogirima, said that the challenge had
been an obstacle to admission status of colleges across Nigeria and called for the review of the current application process into colleges of education, saying “A review is imperative, given the fact that the current application process predisposes candidates toward university education.
