FG eliminates common entrance interview test into Federal Government colleges

Firstclass Newsline gathered that the Minister of Education, Adamu
Adamu, has announced the cancellation of the interview test for
National Common Entrance Examination, NCCE, into Federal Government
colleges. This came as former Minister of Education, Dr Oby
Ezekwesili, yesterday, stressed the urgent need to overhaul the
education system in the country to avoid total collapse of the sector.
A statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Education yesterday in
Abuja, said the cancellation of the test for NCCE would take effect
from the 2017/2018 academic year. The statement signed by the Deputy
Director, Press, Bem Goong, said the minister could not establish the
rationale for a second test for NCCE organised by the National
Examination Council, NECO.
"The second test is an unnecessary additional financial burden on
parents/guardians," it quoted Mr. Adamu as saying.
"The era of multiple examinations attracting prohibitive fees cannot
be accommodated by the Buhari administration, especially against the
backdrop of government's determination to increase access to education
as a platform for breaking the cycle of poverty," the statement read.
It said Adamu had directed NECO to strengthen its examination
processes with a view to achieving quality and credible examination
for admission into unity schools at the first test. The statement said
the minister argued that multiple examinations did not necessarily
translate to the admission of quality pupils in secondary schools.
Mr. Adamu maintained that the 2016/2017 academic year remained the
effective date for the ban on Post-UTME, advising vice-chancellors to
adhere strictly to the policy in the overriding public interest.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, yesterday,
stressed the urgent need to overhaul the education system in the
country to avoid total collapse of the sector. Ezekwesili, who stated
this in Abuja, at the 2016 Nigerian Education Innovation Summit
organised by Education Partnership Centre, EPC, said education left in
the hands of policy makers was problematic.
She said: "Systems are very important; when you have system, then you
have a higher probability of good outcomes.
''If your systems are not functional, then you would need to overhaul
them, because disfunctional systems, can't give you any good outcome.
"When we talk about education, you have to look at it as a system
that has input, output, outcome and your measurement of the impact
that the outcome really stand for.
''When you do that, you will realise that we have been in serious
trouble since the time that I was even Minister of Education. The
Managing Director of EPC, Dr. Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, urged the
Federal Government to scale up educational intervention in Nigeria and
ensure every child in Nigeria benefitted from it. "Every
stakeholders in the sector must ensure that every child in Nigeria
benefits from successfully tested education interventions by focusing
on efforts to scale up impact,'' he said.