#OpinionPoll REDUCTION OF JAMB CUT OFF MARK... Yay or Nay?

Yesterday August 22,, 2017 Jamb released it official cut off mark and surprisingly it was way beyond the expectation of Candidates that are aspiring to go into tertiary institutions’ this year, this new development has caused a whole of uproar in the educational sector but hidden behind this development are numerous advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages include

1.      HOPE: it has given a whole lot of hope to students who scored below 200, students that scored 180 and below can now have hope of forging ahead educational wise, since this development has reduced the official cut off mark of most Universities to 120 and Polytechnics to 100.

2.      Mass Education: one of the reasons why some persons are not in school is due to the former cut off mark that exceeded 200, so many people struggle  to get pass that hurdle and after several attempts without success they probably resigned to fate but this development will reignite the flame of acquiring knowledge via education.

3.      High Level Of Literacy: Nigeria is not among one of the most literate countries in the world, Why? Probably because of the tuition fees and other unforeseen factors but I’ll like to suggest that the mode of admission has also contributed greatly to this decline in literacy, a candidate that didn’t pass jamb should not even think of waiting for admission because it’ll never happen but with this new development I’m sure more than half the candidates that registered jamb this year will get admission and that will increase the potentials of the country in the area of education

4.      More Students: Higher institutions should get ready an harvest of students this year as more student will begin to apply for admission

5.      Reduce Runs: This new cut off mark will really reduce exam malpractice, as students and candidates will have full trust in their ability to pass by themselves

NB: As good as this may be, it also has some very salient disadvantages and they include

1.      Non-Challancy: One of the disadvantages of this new cut off mark is that many students will take it for granted and begin to act as though getting admission  is now a bed of roses

2.      Reduced Reading Habit: students may just stop reading for Jamb and believe since the cut off mark is cheap they can easily get it

3.      Rebirth Of POST UTME: this new development will give birth to the once abolished and banned POST UTME, the reason is that schools will have to have their own ways of testing the ability of students/candidates that are applying for admission, that means that the Screening that was much easier will now be relegated and the old system of qualification resurrected.

4.      More expenses: Now that POST UTME will be activated again that means more expenses, because you’d have to buy post utme form, pay for your registration and other unforeseen expenses.

As innocent as this new development may look it has behind some hooks and ties….. What do you think?