The General Overseer of Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere of Omega Power Ministries has called for the scrapping of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Speaking during a sermon on Sunday in Port Harcourt, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere urged the federal government to end the examination, saying the process places too much strain on students and no longer serves its purpose.
He questioned the need for UTME, noting that students still go through multiple stages before gaining admission into tertiary institutions.
“In Nigeria, you will write WAEC; after WAEC, you will write JAMB; after JAMB, you will write post-UTME; then you wait for the school cut-off mark and departmental cut-off mark. If you don’t meet it, you wait another year, register for JAMB again, and start afresh. It is very frustrating,” he said.
He argued that Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is no longer necessary, as institutions still conduct their own screening after UTME.
“JAMB has lost its relevance because universities still organise their own entrance examinations after UTME,” he added.
The cleric also raised concerns about the early timing of the exams, especially the 6:30 a.m. schedule, which he said puts candidates at risk and increases costs.
“Sometimes I wonder why JAMB fixes exams for 6:30 a.m. Do you know that for all my adopted children under OPM scholarships going for JAMB, I have to give them extra money to pay for hotels?” he queried.
He explained that many candidates travel long distances and stay overnight near their centres to meet the early schedule, adding to the financial burden.
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“They cannot travel safely that early, so they have to stay overnight in hotels close to their centres. This creates additional financial pressure,” he said.
He also criticised the practice of assigning candidates to centres far from where they live, saying it increases safety risks.
“JAMB is always posting them to centres very far away from where they live. What should have been done is to post them to centres close to their homes,” he stated.
Citing security concerns, the OPM founder referred to reports of the abduction of UTME candidates in Benue State.
“I saw something on social media that 12 people who went to write JAMB in Benue State were kidnapped. It is really very unfortunate,” he said.
Comparing Nigeria’s system with those in other countries, he said many institutions abroad use different admission processes that do not depend on a single exam.
“If you want to get admission into universities outside Nigeria, you don’t need JAMB. You apply to the university, they send you an unconditional letter of offer, and when fees are paid, a conditional offer follows after verification of results. They won’t ask you to write JAMB,” he explained.