Mixed feelings trail JAMB new admission cut off marks
Mixed feelings by students and teachers alike have trailed the new admission cut off marks recently released by The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The board had with the approval of Vice Chancellors, Provosts and Rectors of all Nigerian institutions set the cut-off marks as 120 for degree awarding institutions, 100 for monotechnics and polytechnics and 110 for innovative enterprising institutes.
Until the review, the marks were 180 for degree awarding institutions and 150 for the others.
During a cross interview with the Nigerian Voice, many students lamented that the new marks will only devalue the education sector while others said the new cut off marks will help boost the admission chances of some students.
Sodiq Lawal said, "Truly the new admission cut off marks will affect the education sector but were the VC's sleeping when the decision was made? Nigerians should be concerned about how to address the flight of citizens to glorified secondary schools called foreign Universities in country like Ghana, Uganda, Gambia and others.
"It is expedient to state here that the worst admitted cut- off mark in a Nigerian institution is far better than allowing them to fly out to some of the institution they are attending out there which we all know are nothing to be proud of."
Abdulaziiz Yusuf also said, "I do not see reasons in the policy as the officially placed scores are very disgraceful and this can conditionally guarantee the academically unfit students to secure admission even faster than the high scoring students under personality push.
"The educational sector of the nation can surely be in disservice via the incompetence of the academically weak students at the eventual time of completing their studies. I even love conducting Post Utme for academic and intelligence evaluation.
"I thereby urge those in charge to sit and come out with policy reformation of considering more useful marks than than these disgusting ones."
AbdulRasheed Shakirat also said the new admission cut off marks will surely affect the education sector.
However, Oniwinde Babatunde, a student of a polytechnic in Osun State said the new system has its own advantages.
According to him, "Well, initially we all know that whatever that has merit will surely has demerits, my opinion is that the new cut off mark for jamb would help some students in the sense that some might have good result in O'level but he might be delayed by jamb cut off mark while those that score up to 200 might be using awaiting result.
"At the end,when his O'level result comes out, he or she might not meet up again then that admission might belong to nobody. Can you now see that if one with 120 and with completed O'level result can be admitted,it will be better than wasting that admission."
Atolagbe Noah also said he doesn't think the new cut off marks will affect on any way.