BUK Defies FG, Conducts Post-UTME Test
Despite ban on postUTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination) by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, the Bayero University Kano (BUK) on Friday conducted test for candidates seeking admission into the university. Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that about 64,000 candidates applied for admission into the university, but the institution can only admit 6,500 applicants.
A source within the university told our correspondent that after the first screening exercise, the number of applicants reduced to 21, 000 and that when the second screening was conducted the candidates came down to 16,000.
He said although the post–UTME test was abolished by the federal government, a similar test was held on Friday in the name of screening.
“Nothing changed from the previous method. The candidates sat for an objective test on Friday and that was how it was with the post-UTME,” he said.
The minister had banned the conduct of examination for applicants by universities, saying the responsibility for admission into public tertiary institutions lied solely with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and under no circumstance whatsoever should anybody or institution take over that responsibility by proxy.
The minister said: “For the avoidance of doubt, any educational institution after secondary education is regarded as a tertiary institution.
“Therefore, all tertiary institutions, polytechnics, colleges of education, universities or by whatever name it is called after secondary education must be subjected to admission through the JAMB. At the end of probationary admission by JAMB, the candidates can be cleared (screened) for final admission. For any institution with a shortfall in admission, such institution can revert to JAMB for supplementary admission.
“Clearing in this case (screening) entails only the verification of certificates of the candidates, JAMB scores and any other physical examination to ensure that such candidates are not cultists”.
A candidate, who sat for the test at BUK, Hamida Lawal Adam, told Daily Trust on Sunday that they were directed to go into an examination hall, after which they were given sheets for the test.
“Of course there was no written examination. We were only given sheet for an objective test. You would show your examination card, after which you are allowed entry into the examination hall,” she said.
Another candidate, Aliyu Ibrahim, said, “I thought there will be no test in whatever form following the federal government’s directive, but in the end we did it.”
However, the Director Public Affairs of the university, Alhaji Ahmad Shehu, said the institution had not violated the directives of the federal government regarding the post-UTME.
He pointed out that the federal government abolished written test and that BUK had not violated that directive.
“Before the scrap, the test had three components including written exam and analytical method of exam, but following the directives we have suspended all these.
“So the test we conducted on Friday, did not in any way violate the directive,” he said.
When contacted yesterday, the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, in the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr. Ben Bem Goong said “any institution that violates the earlier directives on post-UTME, will be sanctioned.”
He said the NUC had been directed to monitor adherence to and take appropriate actions.