‘FG Should Modify Policy on Tertiary Institutions’ Admission’

Peace Obi

The federal government has been advised to modify its current policy on admission of students into federal higher institutions in the country.

Stating that the three categories of admission quota, merit, catchment area and educationally disadvantaged states are not only promoting mediocrity, the Chairman, Amazing Talents Schools, Idimu, Lagos, Mr. Odivwri, said the application of the policy of educationally disadvantaged status in admission process is capable of denying qualified candidates the opportunity of being admitted into their chosen university despite meeting the required cut-off mark.

Odivwri, who this made known during the school’s 2016 valedictory/prize-giving day recently, called on the federal government to remove every stumbling block on the way to Nigerian child’s access to education.

He said since the country runs the same system of education, operated by the same national curriculum, every Nigerian child should enjoy equal access to tertiary education based on merit.

“At this state of our national life, we are still bothered about giving a section of the admission quota to area of catchment, merit and educationally disadvantaged state. This is not very fair to Nigerian children and for a country that runs a federation to divide the country into educationally advantaged and educationally disadvantaged state.”

The chairman, who noted that since the same policy does not apply when it comes to federal appointments said: “Now, they have pushed it to admission, yet when it comes to appointment, the same policy doesn’t apply. We live in a federation and operate the same national policy on education, the same national curriculum. Therefore, the idea of educationally advantaged or disadvantaged status should not arise.”

He also appealed to the government to liberalise education, saying, “government should liberalise education in a way that the same standard should apply to all admission seekers irrespective of their state of origin.”

Commending the recent move to peg the eligibility for admission into any tertiary institution in the country at a minimum score of 180, he said, “I think that is the way it should go and in pursuing that, the idea of discriminating against children in terms of their geographical location should be discontinued. These are things that concern us as educationists and we expect that our voices will motivate and modify the policies of the government,” Odivwri said.

The Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Banjo Temitope, congratulated the school management and the graduands, stressing that while the graduation ceremony marks an end of a session and a stage in the pupils’ academic life, it ushers the graduands into another phase in their academic pursuits.
He said the journey has just begun for the primary school graduands who would be going to junior secondary school next session and admonished parents and teachers not to relent in their responsibilities of guiding the pupils in the path of honour and greatness.

While calling for the collaboration of parents and schools in nurturing students, Temitope said: “Schools are threshing floors where children with little or no idea of what the future holds for them are nurtured to bring the best out of them. Parents and teachers should join hands to guide these children on the journey ahead.”