Federal Government set to scrap NECO, cancels UTME

Federal Government has concluded arrangements to scrap the National Examination Council. Plans have also been concluded to cancel
the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination being conducted by the
Joint Admission and Matriculation Board for applicants into the nation’s
tertiary institutions.

JAMB will however not be scrapped.

The government’s decisions, which would
be made public soon via a White Paper, are based on the recommendations
of the Stephen Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the
Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals,
Commissions and Agencies.

A government source said that upon receipt of
the latest report, President Goodluck Jonathan has been meeting with
Vice-President Namadi Sambo and a few top government officials to take
final decisions on it.

It was in one of such meetings held on Tuesday that the final decision was taken.

Under the new arrangement, the source
said in place of UTME, authorities of all tertiary institutions would
now be at liberty to conduct their entrance examinations as they had
been doing for post-UTME.

JAMB will however serve as a clearing house.

“JAMB will now be a clearing house like
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service in the UK. If somebody
gains admission into three universities and holds down space,
immediately such person picks his first choice, JAMB’s system will
automatically free the remaining two slots for other applicants.

“JAMB will no longer conduct
examinations but it will be setting the standard alongside the schools
authorities,” the source said.

UCAS, which was  established in 1993, is
the British admission service for students applying to university and
college, including post-16 education as of 2012. UCAS is primarily
funded by students who pay a fee when they apply and a capitation fee
from universities for each student they accept.

On NECO, the source said in arriving at
the decision to scrap the examination body, the committee took into
cognizance its huge facilities across the country.

But it was resolved that the West African Examination Council would absorb NECO’s members of staff and its facilities.

WAEC will also be empowered to conduct
two Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations per year, one in
January and the other probably in December.

Hitherto, only one November/December SSCE Examination is being conducted.

The May/June Senior Secondary Certificate Examination being organised by the examination body once in a year still stands.

The government source also said
arrangements had been concluded to scrap the Public Complaint
Commission, the National Poverty Eradication Programme and the Institute
of Peace and Conflict Resolution among others.

Source: PUNCH