NUT Condemns JAMB’s 150 cut-off Marks for Polytechnics, Colleges

Nigeria Union of Teachers has condemned the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board policy that places cut-off marks for students seeking admission into Universities at 180 and 150 for those seeking admission into Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

The General Secretary of the NUT, Obong Obong made the disclosure in a statement signed by the union, describing the policy as derogatory, and highly discriminatory. NUT explained that the policy is targeted “at demeaning and lowering the professional status of teachers with its concomitant negative effect on the attainment of quality education in the country.

“It is of great disservice to the education sector where the best brains and students of distinction are placed in other courses while those with lower grades are pushed into teaching,” he said. The union further called for an immediate reversal of the policy adding that the government must ensure only students of distinction are admitted to be trained as teachers in all educational institutions in the county. Mr. Obong said in most advanced and developed countries, it is considered that a teacher’s ability to disseminate knowledge to students is dependent on his sound intellectual capability.

He explained that the government deliberately sourced for people with lower educational content to become teachers only to turn around and blame them for poor delivery.

“If this is allowed to stand, government should take full responsibility for the resultant short-comings that may be observed in our educational institutions in future from those teachers,” he said.

He said that NUT has in abundance very brilliant and effective teachers currently in service who should be nurtured for effective service delivery . “We however wish to warn that the teaching profession must not be made an all comers affair,” he said.

Source: Vanguard