After 30 Years, JAMB Admits UTME is Outdated, Moves to Scrap Subject-Only Test

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has acknowledged that its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has remained unchanged for more than three decades and may no longer be effective in selecting candidates for higher education institutions. Prof. Segun Aina, JAMB's Registrar, made this admission while inaugurating a committee of experts and stakeholders to revamp the UTME with components focusing on life skills and critical thinking.

Aina explained that JAMB currently tests candidates solely on their subject expertise, which is already assessed through their O-Level examinations, and that JAMB should instead rank them based on skills necessary for success in tertiary education. The regulator questioned the continued relevance of JAMB's current assessment methods and emphasized that the reform is imperative as JAMB must question its own examination model's relevance in the evolving education landscape.

JAMB deliberately assembled stakeholders from various educational backgrounds because it cannot be a judge in its own matter. The committee, given an initial four-week timeframe to examine the proposal, will develop standardized, fair, and transparent methods to measure analytical, logical, and verbal reasoning beyond mere recall of content.