Conduct Post-UTME exams and face sanctions- FG dares universities

The ban on Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (Post-UTME), conducted by tertiary institutions for admission into universities and other higher schools of learning in the country, was on Monday reiterated by the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja, Adamu stated that any institution that violates the directive will be punished by the Federal Government.

He said: "The ban is with immediate effect and under no circumstance should any institution violate the directive. Those who have already advertised for the conduct of the Post-UTME under any guise should stop the exercise immediately.

"If any tertiary institution has already conducted Post-UTME, such an exercise stands annulled and money taken from candidates must be refunded immediately."

He said the emphasis had become necessary to ensure that no stakeholder was left in doubt about government's position on the matter.

He said: "For the avoidance of doubt, any educational institution, after secondary education, is regarded as a tertiary institution. Therefore, all tertiary institutions, by whatever name it is called, after secondary education, must be subjected to admission through JAMB."

He added that universities were at liberty to expel any student who failed to meet up with the requirements for any degree enrolled for.

According to Adamu, there was no empirical evidence to show that universities had been having better student performance since the inception of Post-UTME; adding that students were still being expelled annually for low grades, even though they gained admission through Post-UTME.

He said parents and guardians spend fortunes on transportation, hotel accommodation, examination fees and sundry costs, just for their wards to gain admission into universities. He further lamented that in some cases, parents die in the process of travelling to secure admission for their wards, a situation he described as painful and avoidable.

The National Universities Commission, NUC, and the appropriate departments in the Ministry, were thus directed by the Minister to communicate this directive to relevant agencies and institutions, in order to ensure strict compliance.

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