Apologists of the old order at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board are at it again, shuttling between the laughable to the ridiculous and ludicrous in presenting their own narrative of what is nationally recognised as Is-haq Oloyede’s miracle in the examination body.
Specifically, if one may recap, within the first year of assumption of office, Professor Is-haq Oloyede’s JAMB paid an unprecedented sum of N7.8billion into the Federation Account. His ’eminent’ predecessors had only struggled to remit a paltry N3million to N15 million yearly to government. Speaking at the Policy meeting of Tertiary Education Stakeholders at the Nigerian Judicial Institute, Abuja, shortly after the first lodgement of N5 billion by JAMB, the Hon. Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, said the amount was 400 times more than the agency had ever generated in their 40 year history.
The payment shocked all and sundry, surpassing the wildest dreams of both the government and all watchers of the industry. Both the Minister of Education and his then counterpart in the Finance Ministry, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had hitherto set what they considered a target of N500 million, which was even optimistic and ambitious judged by previous records.
So far, over N15 billionNhas been paid into the Federation Account by JAMB. Already, Oloyede’s positive impact in the sector has resulted into almost 37 percent reduction of examination fees from N5,000.00 to N3,500.00.
Outside JAMB, Oloyede’s worthy example has led to the payment of almost N2 billion into the Federation Account, by the National Education Council, NECO. Federal Government has also reduced the NECO fees by 10 percent from N11,500.00 to N9,850.00, all these to some however is no big deal.
In his letter to the editor published in the November 29 edition of the PUNCH, one of the advocates of this preposterous and tendentious tendency, one Oluwole Akinjayoju dismissed Oloyede’s huge payments into the government purse as a product of the commercialisation of the examination body, and the resulting exploitation of hapless candidates. He cited the payment of N1500.00 for the changing of courses within an institution and N2,500.00 for change of institution as evidence of such charges that had boosted the revenue of the examination body.
One must appreciate the effort of our friend, Mr. Oluwole Akinjayoju, whose sudden wake up from slumber must be appreciated in this new era, when JAMB , as a government agency is returning generated funds into the Federation Account. Alas, where was our friend, Mr. Akinjayoju, in the years preceding this era, when JAMB was operating virtually at a loss due to non-remission of generated funds into the Federation Account even after charging the same fees? A little investigation into the past by him would have revealed to the author that those amounts complained of were the same under Oloyede’s predecessors, yet they had contributed virtually nothing to the Federation Account. The new JAMB management has not increased the hitherto charged fees by a dime.
A similar hatchet job by fifth columnists appeared in one of the dailies last October. In their satanic mission, they attempted to use a section of Nigerian students to articulate their cause. As it turned out, the evil intention of the authors was to frustrate a courageous effort by the Oloyede management to tackle another cankerworm in the nation’s tertiary education system, the late admission (regularisation) system. It is a system whereby a number of Nigerian Institutions admit large numbers of unqualified and ineligible candidates through the backdoor. They are then presented at the end of their programmes for regularisation even when majority of these candidates are yet to address the defects in their entry qualifications including the fundamental pre-requisite of credit in English and Mathematics. This system has been frowned at by the current management where concerted efforts have been made to stop it henceforth.
Granted that Oloyede has been able to turn the fortunes of the agency around, returning over N7.8 billion into the national purse within the first year of his resumption, shall remain a big puzzle for students of Public Administration and Public Finance for a long time to come.
No wonder, in quick response to the development, the Federal Government quickly set up an inquiry into the management of the agency by Oloyede’s eminent predecessors.
Any honest observer would however recall that it was through the sanitisation of the entire JAMB system which came with Oloyede that it became possible for candidates to purchase the JAMB forms at the official rate of N5,000.00. Before his coming, getting the forms at that price was the exception rather than the rule as hoarding of scratch cards was the order of events.
One of the fast-reaching measures taken by Oloyede was the scrapping of the scratch cards system for the purchase of JAMB admission forms.
The scratch cards system had allowed unscrupulous officials and their collaborators to rob the agency of billions of Naira through duplication of cards and misappropriation of revenues. Above all, it facilitates a system where individuals or groups warehoused large quantities of forms which are then hoarded to create artificial scarcity thereby pushing the cost up in multiple times.
Oloyede opened up and democratised the procurement system to ensure direct access of candidates to JAMB forms. Instead of just one or two banks, multi-channels approach involving virtually all Nigeria banks and CBT centres and the use of POS was adopted.
To stem the exploitation of candidates by owners of Business Centres, JAMB evolved a system whereby candidates can use their GSM numbers to create their profiles.
Oloyede has waged an unprecedented and very successful war against the massive exploitation of candidates by CBT centres, the so-called ‘Miracle Centres’ and tutorial operators, who had engaged in mindless exploitation of candidates in the past. For instance, in place of the approved N5,000.00, candidates obtained forms at ‘Miracle Centres’ at N20,000. The so-called VIP candidates paid up to N200,000.00 to CBT Centres just to allow someone in to assist the candidates to take the
examinations.
Judged by all standards, what has happened in JAMB in the past two years is a great joy and inspiration to all patriots and progressive minded people that our country can still boast of men of immense competence and profound integrity.
Any opinion contrary to this, is preposterous, a criminal justification and collaboration with the rot of the
past.
The choice before us therefore is between competence and incompetence. Between open, transparent, and all-inclusive management and bad governance. Between visionary and transformational leadership and avaricious and corrupt leadership.
Contrary to the opinion of the self-seeking advocates of hapless candidates, Oloyede led JAMB management has contributed more to the greatest good of candidates than anyone before
them.
Their all-time star performance, which must be celebrated by all lovers of the country, is central to the drastic reduction in the examination fees, almost 40 percent reduction in JAMB and 10 percent by NECO.
That Oluwole Akinjayeju’s letter was published on the same day the outcome of Oloyede’s sleepless nights for Nigerian masses was announced in the significant reduction in the cost of JAMB examinations, this is an interesting irony.
It shows that Prof. Olanrewaju Oloyede is on the right side of history, his detractors are on the other
side.
The same reason why the University of Ilorin has remained the oasis in the progressive desertification of our tertiary educational system, the most sought after by applicants into our higher institutions.
I rest my case. Long live Nigeria.
