Bayero varsity rejects JAMB’s admission cut-off marks

• BUK sets 180 as baseline
• Activists accuse board of undermining FoI Act

Bayero University Kano (BUK) has joined other tertiary institutions to kick against the new benchmark of 120/100 marks for admission by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Director, Public Affairs of the university, Malam Ahmad Shehu, who spoke with The Guardian in a telephone interview, posited that the university’s Senate has pegged admission minimum cut-off mark to 180 after comprehensive evaluation of the minimum recommendation set by JAMB.

Shehu, who said that the university’s justification would be based on the volume of applications and allotted quota, insisted that the university would still sustain 200 marks and above for some courses, including Medicine, Law and Engineering.

He added that courses like Hausa Language, English and other related courses would still be stepped down for nothing below 180.According to him: “What we have done in BUK is not in disagreement with what JAMB is requesting for. The 120 is just minimum and university has that authority to decide its minimum too.”

In another development, civil rights activists under the umbrella of Media Rights Agenda (MRA) have accused JAMB’s officials of failing to implement the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.

The group said JAMB had been admitted into its “Hall of Shame” following its non-compliance with the Act.According MRA, since the FoI Act was passed into law in 2011, JAMB ought to have submitted six yearly reports to the Attorney-General of the Federation on its implementation of the Act, but has not submitted a single report.

In a statement yesterday, MRA’s Freedom of Information Programme Manager, Mr. Ridwan Sulaimon, said that JAMB had not fulfilled its proactive disclosure obligations under Section 2 of the Act, just as it had not published either on its website or anywhere else the 16 categories of information that it is required by the FoI Act to publish and disseminate widely to members of the public through various means, including print, electronic and online sources.

“Under Section 13, every government or public institution is required to ensure the provision of appropriate training for its officials on the public’s right to access information and records held by the government or public institution for the effective implementation of the Act. MRA noted that although this is mandatory, JAMB had not carried out any such training for its officials since the Act was passed into law six years ago.

“JAMB’s blatant disregard for the mandatory provisions of the Act clearly has far-reaching negative implications for both the effective implementation of the law, as it affects both the right and ability of members of the public to request and obtain information from it,” the statement said as well as the capacity of oversight bodies, such as the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly, to assess the level of implementation of the Act by JAMB.”

“There can be no doubt that given the functions of JAMB, the destiny of millions of young Nigerians rests with the institution. Over the years, while millions have been positioned to achieve their lives’ career goals through JAMB, the hopes of millions of others have also been dashed by JAMB. It is, therefore, not inconceivable that examination body is a public institution that a lot of Nigerians, especially the youths, want information from for many different reasons, including to enable them prepare for and achieve their goals in life,” he added.