Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has faulted the recent cut-off point announced by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), describing it as “an embarrassment” to the system. National President of ASUP, Comrade Usman Dutse, who stated this in Abuja at the weekend, said the cut-off point announced by the regulator represented 25 per cent of the examination – 400 marks. He said: “We don’t actually know what JAMB wants to achieve with that decision, but as a major stakeholder all we know is that 100 and120 as a cut-off point is too low.
I believe in any global standard examination rating 25 per cent is failure because 100 and 120 is more of 25 per cent of the exam which I said earlier that is failure so using that as a benchmark standard is degrading and the eff ect would be that quality would be eroded. “And the notion by JAMB that institution can upgrade the mark to suit their need is funny because if institutions can upgrade the marks higher than JAMB cutoff point, means that there is no need for people to write JAMB but to allow schools to conduct their exams and admit students according to their standard.”
Th e ASUP president further said if students, after scoring 120 in JAMB and are expected to sit for post UMTE showed JAMB had lost its relevance. “Writing JAMB with 120 marks and sitting for post UTME shows that JAMB has lost its relevance so we feel that decision is wrong and it would not go well with tertiary institution because the decision ridicules the higher institution in the country.” Dutse on staggering of admission said “the decision to also stager admission that universities will fi nish both fi rst and second choice before Polytechnics and Colleges of Education means is the remnants and low students that would go to Polytechnics and College of Education and by implication.”
