The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde has expressed worry over the discriminatory cut-off marks of 180 and 150 respectively adopted each year by the Policy Committee for universities and polytechnics/Colleges of Education respectively.
According to him, the practice defeats the aim of the UTME.
A statement issued by Agidike Onu on behalf of the Director Press, Ihuoma Priscilla, yesterday in Abuja, said Ojerinde stated this at a meeting of the Minister of Education and Prof. Malam Adamu Adamu, Anthony Anwuka, Minister of State for Education and with heads of some agencies in the ministry.
The statement said that the meeting was to acquaint the ministers of the activities of the agencies.
The agencies the ministers met with included the National Universities Commission (NUC), Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).
The Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, and the Executive Secretary of TETFUND, Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, took their turns to brief the ministers, according to the statement.
According to the statement, Ojerinde said that JAMB had improved on its services, thereby easing the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He disclosed that no fewer than 600 centres had been identified for the 2016 exercise including special centres for the physically challenged and candidates in the Diaspora.
The statement said Bogoro informed the ministers that the fund had become a brand for many African countries as five countries had established similar funds modelled after the Nigerian experience.
In his briefing Okojie was quoted as saying that the commission had grown from strength to strength over the years.
Okojie disclosed that, till date, the number of accredited universities stands at 141, comprising 40 Federal, 40 State and 61 private universities.
He noted that `Nigerian universities now rank very high in the international community.
