The proposed scrapping of the National Examination Council (NECO), Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) and other related examination bodies by the federal government has been critised by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
Instead of scrapping the bodies, NANS urged the federal government to strengthen the exam bodies to meet the yearnings of Nigerians through proper standardisation of the pro-active examination regulatory bodies.
NANS have also issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) to compel the MTN and Airtel improve on their erratic services rendered to Nigerians, otherwise they would champion the allegation against NCC on the rumoured kick-back by the service providers to the regulatory authority.
In a six-page communiqué issued at the end their 66th senate meeting of the association held at the Benue State University, Makurdi and signed by the Senate President of NANS, Mr. Donald Onukaogu, and two other communiqué drafting committee members, NANS called for the immediate prohibition of post-UTME as it had been turned into money making venture by most managements and institution heads in the country.
“The senate believes that if the heads of institutions are truly sincere and concerned about the standard of education in Nigeria, then the post-UTME should be conducted free of charge. We see post-UTME as exploitative and appeals to the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to give directives to the Minister of Education to either abolish the conduct of post-UTME or make it free in all campuses,” NANS said.
While frowning on the unholy interference in students’ union affairs and finances by managements of institutions, NANS warned that institutions still perpetrating such acts or be ready to incur the wrath of Nigerian students.
The students’ body listed the affected institutions as Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (ABU), Ekiti State University, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Plateau State Polytechnic, and Federal College of Education (Technical) Gombe.
NANS also declared a state of emergency in OAU, ABU, UNN, and UNILAG for the refusal of the managements of such institutions to conduct students’ union elections, thereby stampeding the affairs and benefits of democratically elected Students’ Union Government (SUG).
NANS, however, urged the National Assembly not to succumb to pressures by “enemies of democracy” in its efforts to amend the 1999 Constitution, adding that it would be beneficial to Nigerians if autonomy is granted to local governments and state Houses of Assembly.
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