HIGHER EDUCATION WITHOUT JAMB UME

BY

PETER OGUDORO

Did you know that for every 1000 candidates who sit for JAMB exams about 940 "Fail"? By this I mean that this number is not offered admission. The reason for this is the very limited chances in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The word fail is in quotes here because JAMB does no predetermine the pass mark for admission into the programmes candidates vie for. What is predetermined is the number of candidates who will be offered admission to the various programmes available. That number is an input made by the authorities of tertiary institutions into the admission exercise based on the facilities and manpower at their disposal.

A candidate's success or failure invariably depends on the performance of other candidates for the course the candidate seeks admission. Candidates for JAMB exams in effect play a zerosum game. This means that a candidate secures admission into a tertiary institution to the disadvantage of many other candidates who sat for the same course, some of whom could be the candidate's brothers and sisters. In other words, candidates for JAMB exams cannot by studying hard increase the number of successful candidates for such exams. What they can achieve by so doing is to raise the cut-off point for the relevant course and thereby increase the propensity for candidates to have a sense of frustration.

THE SITUATION WILL GET WORSE BECAUSE OUR SECONDARY SCHOOLS ARE PRODUCING MORE AND MORE CANDIDATES FOR JAMB

EXAMS WITH EVERY PASSING YEAR.

This is a sad state of affairs indeed. The reality is that most people who seek higher education through JAMB won't get it unless they cure themselves of their prejudice and ignorance and allow reason and realism to lead them to their destination early. The essence of higher education is to get a "meal ticket", and for the public spirited, get prepared for responsible citizenship.

Professional bodies in Nigeria and Overseas offer incredible opportunities for early break-through in life. Most professional bodies in Nigeria have the authority of the Federal Government to regulate the practice of their professions. In other words, unless you obtain a license from them, normally through passing the exams they conduct, they will consider you an intruder to their profession while employers look at you as a quack no matter the number of academic degrees you have. This explains why most University graduates write their exams and obtain their license before they can solve the problem of unemployment.

The interesting thing, however, is that most professional bodies world-wide accept senior school certificate (former GCE O'L) as adequate academic qualification to sit for the exams they conduct. Field investigations have revealed that a studious student member of a professional body successfully completes a professional programme within three years. Nigerian and Foreign Universities accept the final certificates awarded by professional bodies for admission into post graduate programmes. It is, therefore, possible for a hard working person to obtain master's degree within four years of finishing secondary education and subsequently enroll for a Ph.D. programme if the person is interested in academics to that extent.

Professional bodies exist in virtually all fields of human endeavour (including engineering) and offer the opportunities that are being presented to you here. It is however, important that you seek and receive the services of a professional career counsellor with this paper before you choose the professional body you have to register with. The opinions of your parents, friends and other relations on the issue raised here especially with respect to the profession you should choose may be based on sentiments that can jeopardize your future. Resist their influence, though politely and talk with a (trained) professional career counsellor. The professional counsellor will ensure that you are assisted to train for a profession that matches your intelligence quotients, aptitude, interest, experience, ambition, responsibilities, financial situation and other peculiar circumstances. When you choose a profession you do not have a natural flair for, the tendency is for you to fail the exams you write in that area and then claim that professional exams are difficult to pass.

Every profession is good provided you have what it takes to practice it better than others. It was Emerson who said that if a man can write a better book, preach a better sermon or make a better mouse-trap than his neighbor, though he builds his house in the wood, the world won't mind making a beaten path to his door.

If you choose to take advantage of the opportunity being presented to you here, you will pleasantly realize that your studies won't be affected by the incessant closure of tertiary institutions which force some Nigerians to spend as many as eight years studying for a first degree. If you take the new approach (which in fact is not new for it has been available for long), you will obtain a Ph.D. within that period.

It is important you know that the grades you make in a professional exam reflect the effort you put in. The examiner does not know you for your identity is shielded from him to guarantee objective assessment and maintenance of standards. Your performance does not, therefore depend on whether or not you have any link with him. Besides, your ability and circumstances dictate the pace at which you progress in your studies. The gifted student can in fact qualify for admission into a master's degree programme within one year. That sounds incredible but it is quite possible.

The beauty of the professional programmes that are being discussed here is that for every part you complete, you get a statement of result which you can use to obtain admission into other educational institution or secure a well paying job. For any reason (e.g dwindling financial fortune) you miss a year or more, you can continue from where you stopped when your circumstances improve. The institution you seek to enroll in through JAMB does not guarantee you this.

Another benefit most professional bodies offer is that if you do not possess the full academic requirement for the course you want to study, they permit you to undergo a remedial programme before entering the main programme which they assist you to pass by providing you with relevant literature and other services within available resources. It has to be emphasized that a relevant professional body regulates the department where the course you want to study is offered in a tertiary institution and can get it closed down when they are convinced that standards have been compromised. The Federal Government has given the body authority to do this via the law setting it up. Most professional bodies and employers consider the terminal certificates, tertiary institution award (eg. First degree, HND. And NCE) as inferior to the graduate membership certificates they award to those who pass final exams of their programmes.

This explains why most graduates of tertiary institutions (universities, polytechnics and college of education) write and pass professional exams before they secure well paying, and prestigious jobs. People who are unhappy about employer's preference for applicants with professional training received through preparation for success in a professional exam withdraw "their case" after they have undergone the training themselves and discovered how it is positively different from what is obtainable from tertiary institution especially now that it is obvious that standards are being compromised in such institutions in the face of set backs like:

(a) Examination malpractices, which professional bodies do not condone;

(b) Limited time for studies in the face of prolonged industrial actions (strikes) which the professional bodies hedge against by setting and maintaining high standards and allowing you to qualify for their licence at your own pace meaning that no one gets a licence until the person has attained the acceptable level of competence and the notorious 'Nigeria factor" does not affect this.

(c) Poor library facilities which professional bodies check via publication of well researched articles in journals which they provide their members regularly to keep them abreast of the dynamics of the socio- economic, political and technological horizons;

(d) Rising cost of tuition, and education materials which students are finding difficult to cope with. Professional bodies operate their programme in a way that you can foot the bill for your studies relatively conveniently while gathering work experience which employers place so much emphasis on during recruitment;

(e) The activities of cults, which jeopardize academic excellence, and pose security risk to both lives and property on campuses. The entire society takes the blame for this sad state of affairs, not just the cult members, for we by our actions, and utterances promote materialism and the survival of the fittest, doing very little to secure the future for youths who will be leaders tomorrow. Those who study for professional exams do not have to contend with the tension on campuses arising from this problem;

(f) Poor infrastructure especially as it affects lecture rooms, and hostels (accommodation). As many as 16 students live in a hostel room in Nigerian Universities now, while, as many 1000 students can "listen" to a lecture in the same classroom with the minority seated while the majority are standing. You do not face this problem when you choose to toe the route you have the good fortune to learn from this site;

(g) Manpower inadequacies manifesting in lecturers going to class ill-prepared apart from their inadequate practical experience which amounts to a blind man leading other blind men. The result is the pitiable state of affairs now - graduates, who one illiterate landlord equated with holders of first school leaving certificate of "his time". The Guardian in a recent editorial expressed the fear that"…we are in the process of producing absent-minded graduates". The high standards of professional examination which are not compromised ensure that those who are awarded professional certificates offer superb performance on the job which accounts for why employers make them heads where those with only academic certificates serve as subordinates, learning and taking instructions from the professional.

The writer has comparative knowledge of both systems (conventional tertiary institutions and professional bodies) because he has studied in both of them and has elected to help you with the inevitable conclusion that on a scale, professionalism scores more points. You do not lose if you can avail yourself of what is available in both systems. He has done that himself, though not through JAMB. That is why at a very young age, he has traversed fields of learning that include Human Resources Management, Political science, Guidance and Counseling, Public Relations, Marketing, Advertising, Broadcasting and Computer Applications; doing all his post secondary studies so far on part-time. The bills for his studies have been settled with money that came from remunerative jobs he has done in NEPA, NECENT Management Consultants, Students PYE ltd., Chart Tutors and Ogudoro Leadership Trainers and Management Consultants where he is currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer. His first port of call was the Graduate Membership exams of the Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (IPM) for his own talents lie in Manpower Development and Strategic Management, which the exams and training programmes he has undergone have nurtured.

PETER OGUDORO, ANIPR, AIPM, AMNIM is the programmes co-ordinator of Professional Exams Clinic, located at 3 Tonade Street (Ipodo), Ikeja, and presenter of SUCCESS TIPS on Ray power 2 106.5fm (7.15am, Monday - Friday).

PROFESSIONAL EXAMS CLINIC is a socially responsible organization that is committed to manpower development in Nigeria through the provision of high quality education and training services. Our vision is the development of a Nigerian selfless, godly effective and enviable corporate leadership who will be known more for their making Nigeria a great country than the wealth they acquire for themselves. We currently operate a counseling center at our training complex. People receive FREE counseling services there. Let us assist you with counseling services on life and career. See our Programmes Co-coordinator any day (Monday to Sunday). I know you will thank God for choosing to go there immediately. Also encourage those who need adult literacy services to call at the center for assistance. Workers who want to insure themselves against retrenchment, and improve their chances for promotion will equally find our FREE counseling services helpful. So help them with the information and create awareness among your friends and relations on the issues raised in this paper. One Author said that what you share multiple while that which you withhold diminishes.

Ngugi Wa Thiongo in his “WEEP NOT CHILD” said through Mwihaki, one of the dramatis personae that “our duty to our people is our biggest responsibility as grown men and women”. Njoroge, another character in the book asked the question: “is it not childish to remain in a hole when you can take yourself out?” It is the same question I ask you. I pray God to grant you the wisdom to answer it correctly.