JAMB begins review of UTME, moves to introduce life skills, critical thinking

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has commenced moves to review the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), with plans to explore the integration of life skills and critical thinking into the assessment of candidates seeking admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Segun Aina, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during the inauguration of a committee of education experts and stakeholders tasked with developing a framework for incorporating the skills into the UTME.

According to Aina, the proposed review is aimed at determining whether the current examination adequately measures the abilities required for candidates to succeed in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

He explained that the UTME primarily serves as a ranking and selection examination for candidates who have already obtained their O-Level qualifications. As a result, he questioned the need for JAMB to duplicate the subject-based assessments already conducted by examination bodies such as the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).

Aina said JAMB was interested in examining candidates’ ability to apply knowledge in real-life situations, including their capacity for critical thinking, reasoning and problem-solving.

He also noted that the basic UTME format had remained largely unchanged for more than three decades, making it necessary to examine whether the existing approach remained relevant to the changing demands of tertiary education.

The registrar said the committee was deliberately made up of stakeholders from different parts of the education sector because JAMB wanted the proposed reforms to take into account the views of institutions, examination bodies, regulators, students and other affected groups.

He said the committee had initially been given four weeks to examine the proposal from a conceptual perspective and make recommendations to the board.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, represented at the event by the Technical Assistant to the Acting Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Oni Adedeji, said the proposed review was consistent with broader efforts to reform assessment in Nigeria’s education system.

Alausa charged the committee to develop assessment methods that are standardised, fair and transparent while measuring candidates’ analytical, logical and verbal reasoning abilities beyond the recall of subject content.

The minister said the committee would also determine how the proposed components could eventually be introduced, including whether they should be administered as a separate standardised component or incorporated into existing UTME subjects.

He said the objective was to develop an assessment system that measures not only what candidates know but also how effectively they can think, reason and solve problems.

The chairman of the committee, Prof. Boniface Nworgu of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said the effectiveness of UTME should be assessed by its ability to identify candidates with strong prospects of succeeding in tertiary education.

Nworgu said JAMB conducts a selection examination rather than a certification examination, making the ability of the UTME to predict academic success an important consideration.

He added that changes in tertiary education curricula had increased the emphasis on skills and critical thinking, citing the transition from the Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) to the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS).

The committee chairman said the group would not necessarily limit its recommendations to life skills and critical thinking if its deliberations identified other measures capable of improving the predictive value of the UTME.

He also stressed that any proposed changes should be evidence-based, with mechanisms established to determine whether a modified examination achieves its intended objectives.

The committee comprises representatives from universities, examination bodies, professional regulatory councils, secondary schools, students’ organisations and development agencies.

Its initial recommendations are expected within four weeks. Any subsequent changes to the UTME would depend on the outcome of the committee’s work and further development of an assessment framework.

For now, JAMB has not announced a final implementation date or confirmed that life-skills and critical-thinking components will definitely feature in the next UTME. The current exercise is focused on reviewing the existing system and developing recommendations for possible reform.