Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria recently placed an advert in the Daily Trust newspaper for “Online Sale of Postgraduate Forms.” However, counted among the requirements by the university was for the applicant to have five ‘O’ level credits to include English and Mathematics. Maybe there’s a reason why ABU and other universities do this and other countries don’t. So I got the office to contact National Universities Commission and ABU for an explanation. At the time of turning in this column, none had replied.
Could someone else tell us why? Well, many Nigerians have opinions.
M.D. Aminu: It’s not peculiar to ABU. My mum applied for a master’s degree in Library Science at the University of Ibadan in the 1990s, and her application for admission was declined by the university because she didn’t have a credit in WASC English language.
Dr. Garba Ibrahim: I shouted against it, until I was hoarse, at UniMaid, but to no avail.
Dr. Ibrahim D. Muhammad: It’s not only ABU, but several of the universities, if not all! Even lecturers with Master’s degrees teaching in their own university for years must have the five credits, including Mathematics and English! Yes, they screened their own staff like others! What happened to screening done when they were being employed? And that’s not the worst part; some may actually not graduate due to “internal politics”! That is why some leave their university or even Nigeria for further studies so as to “finish on time”!
Godwin Ashituabe: Colonial mentality, period.
Hamzat Abubakar: Nigeria my country, where discrimination is the order of the day.
Hussain Zandam: University of Lagos has no business with ‘O’ level results.
Dr. Samaila Waje: For refusing to be dynamic, it may take forever for our universities to be indexed in the world rankings of universities.
Victor Kulugh: But is it only ABU in Nigeria? Come to think of it, even at the undergraduate level, an admission seeker needs WAEC/NECO, UTME and post-UTME examinations, is that not too much?
Ibrahim Zakariyau: The major problem in Nigeria is inadequate identification system. In some developing countries and the developed, you can’t just forge documents; they are well protected and there is an efficient data access.
Shayib Abdullah Mohammed: Who is crazy enough to even dream of a Nigerian PhD?
Ibrahim Shehu Hunkuyi: That is the problem with ABU Zaria. They always claimed to be the best, without knowing they are actually cheating our younger ones from the North.
Akote Sadeeq Abubakar: I don’t even like ABU. They always make things complicated for postgraduate students especially. Maybe they don’t want others to become PhD holders or professors. It is absolutely out of point demanding for ‘O’ level result after one had graduated from university. When I applied for a direct entry degree programme at the Islamic University in Uganda using my diploma result in 2012, the screening committee only checked my diploma. And they gave me 200 level. Nigerian universities need to change.
Ibrahim Kalayi: Having five credits, Math and English inclusive, is a recent development in ABU.
About two years ago, I applied for a master’s programme in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice and I wasn’t offered admission simply because I had an F9 in Mathematics in my ‘O’ level results.
I explained to them at the PG School that I am a graduate of ABU and that the department I graduated from didn’t require Mathematics when I was offered admission, etc. and the people at the PG school informed me that the new policy is that one must have five credits with Math and English regardless of one’s discipline to be offered post graduate admission in ABU.
I graduated in 2007 and now I am planning on sitting for WAEC again so as to get the Mathematics that I ran away from many years ago. Lol!
Dr. Marzuq Ungogo: After practising journalism for almost 30 years, my dad applied for MA in Mass Communication with his BA English Language at NOUN and was told he won’t be admitted because he didn’t offer literature in English at ‘O’ level.
The man has hundreds of novels and literature books he used in his B.A. In fact, growing up and reading most of them inspired me into writing (yes, including poems). But he wasn’t qualified because he didn’t offer ‘English Literature’ in secondary school.
The old man has since forgotten that dream. So sad!
But nobody even cared about my ‘O’ levels when I applied for mine here [in the UK]. Some friends told me they only used the ‘O’ level result to get a waiver, so that they won’t write IELTS. Anyway, I have since stopped comparing our education systems.
Dr. Abdullahi Dahiru: My wife had to write NECO last year before she applied for PhD in BUK. Thank God she passed. Most universities only admit those with second class upper for masters.
That is why I salute our postgraduate medical colleges in Nigeria. Nobody asks for ‘O’ levels before commencing residency training in any specialty.
Dabo Hammad: Therefore, there is no logic for requesting ‘O’ level results for PhD admission. Practically, there will be no tangible research without PhD students. Consequently, if our universities continue with this silliness, they will never be within the global academic radar.
Al Mamun Mahmud Mallam: It’s an ABU and Nigerian standard’ thing.
Dr. Umaru Samaila: It is not only ABU it’s all Nigerian universities based on NUC regulations. It’s just a check to determine your admission for first and master’s degree.
Sunusi Musa: It really beats my imagination. I wonder, what is the nexus between WAEC and PhD?
Abubakar Alhaji Ahmed: It’s not ABU Alone. There was a case of a professor who aspired to be a VC but was having issues with ‘O’ levels.
Babamusa Dannasir: FUT Minna did the same to me. I applied for masters in disaster and risk management, they told me I didn’t have five credits, I said I did and showed them, they said that Islamic studies didn’t count. Then it should be scrapped.
Adam Ahmed: Dr. Dooba, this matter was thoroughly discussed in the last CDPGS (Committee of Deans of PG Schools in Nigeria universities) meeting with NUC some two months ago. I believe that the anomalies are being corrected.
Zainab Magaji: The same reason why promotion in the Nigerian civil service is not based on actual job input but on passing some funny examination where people just copy each other, because most often, what you do in the office has little to do with the exam questions.
Muneer Sanusi: I was denied admission to study PhD History at Yar’dua University Katsina, due to the mathematics deficiency. I’d to write WAEC again, before being admitted this year.
Salisu Monsuru: Naija education frustrates people. Hope they didn’t ask for birth certificate, letter from local government, etc.
Salisu Dantsoho Muhammed: Our educational system is still at analogue stage, those who are concerned are yet to understand the current trend in global education.
