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The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi has given reason why the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) reduced the cut-off mark for admission into universities across the nation to 160.
MERIDIAN SPY reported Wednesday JAMB pegged the cut-off marks of 2020/2021 admission for universities and polytechnics at 160 and 120 respectively.
The cut-off point for colleges of education and innovative institutions were also fixed for 100.
In an interview with Sahara Reporters, Prof. Ogunyemi said the decision was taken in order to appease the owners of private universities who are in need of more students.
“They decided after they met with the leadership of universities in Nigeria. The leadership consists of vice-chancellors and registrars. From our knowledge of the system, we believe that no public university in Nigeria would willingly admit anybody below 160 (UTME score) but as for private universities, they need low cut-off marks to attract students,” he said.
“You would have seen that even though we have over 70 private universities in Nigeria, they still have less than five per cent of the students’ population. What that means for them is that they will run out of business if they do not attract more students. That is why we have been advocating that the focus should be on the public university; by addressing quality education in Nigeria.
“This would ensure that the children of the poor do not drop out of the education system.
“Private universities, essentially, are established to meet the needs of the elites. When you look at the structure of those universities, hardly will you see the children of the poor admitted there.
“The children of the poor are not there; the children of the elites are there and they can do anything to ensure that they keep them in business. Private universities are essentially business centres and that is why you get all kinds of reports coming from there.
“Maybe you can name one or two that have managed toscale the hurdles of toeing the line of quality but we have our reservations about them. More importantly, if the Nigerian government should do what we ask of them, if they should meet our demand to fix public universities in Nigeria today; I can assure you that private universities will fizzle out.
“It is because of that fear that JAMB must bend backwards to accommodate their interest. That low cut-off mark is to appease owners of private universities, not public ones.”
