Just before the introduction of the JUPEB programme in 2013, a lot of Jambites were left with the only option of rewriting JAMB year after year, after repeatedly failed attempts at getting into the University.
What is JUPEB?
The Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) is a national examinations body approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria in December 2013. It was formally established in April 2014 by a consortium of (10) partnering universities led by the University of Lagos.
The JUPEB programme is specifically designed to provide an opportunity for students who are unable to gain admission into regular degree programmes in Nigerian Universities for one reason or the other, as the programme only requires candidates’ O’ level results.
Candidates who successfully complete this programme, will be given certificates which can be used to gain admission into 200 level in 70% of Nigeria University through direct entry.
The JUPEB certificate is presently recognized and accepted in more than 70% of Nigeria’s federal, state and private Universities.
While this appears too fantastic, there are lots of Jambites that still won’t settle for this mouth-watering option of admission. You may want to know why…
According to a source from Quora, enrolling into a JUPEB program in Nigeria, costs roughly nothing less than a two hundred thousand naira (200,000). Analyzing the financial demands this programme comes with, it’s easy to assume why some jambites would rather not do a JUPEB programme.
Pitching this average cost against the cost of buying and registering for another JAMB / post UTME , it seems quite easy for the average Nigerian student to settle for a second JAMB, as both methods still involve examinations and none offers automatic admission either.
Enrolling into a JUPEB programme can be likened to gaining admission into the University for the first time. For an average of 10 months, the academic programme will be run, in some places on the University campus while off-campuses in some.
During this period, the student is expected to buy educational materials,attend lectures, participate in practical classes where necessary, feed and transport himself/herself from time to time.
This student virtually does everything an undergraduate would do except matriculate, hence you can expect that the pocket money or feeding allowances would definitely be on the higher side. Considering the fact that there are still chances of failing or passing the programme, it seems a rather expensive option to many.
However,retaking JAMB doesn’t come off easier , does it?
Despite having a high JAMB score, there is still the possibility of missing out on an admission because of a low Post UTME score. With a JUPEB certificate in hand, the fears of scaling post UTME is automatically ruled out. Your certificate lands you automatically into any school of your choice in Nigeria, provided they accept JUPEB. Which brings us to the flexible nature of your JUPEB certificate…
Do you realize that JAMB results expire in one year? But your JUPEB certificate lasts you for as long as 10 years. With the JAMB , your application is just restricted to one Federal university or state as the case may be, whereas your JUPEB certificate takes you to as many universities as you’d want to apply to.
Here’s even the best part..
You get to be admitted into the second year! You lose absolutely no time doing this programme, your 10 months count as a first year programme already! What’s more, you’ll be moving straight into your desired department without worrying about cut-off marks! In addition, you’re even more prepared for your stay in the university.
Rewriting JAMB the second time, however does not get you into the second year,regardless of the number of trials. This makes a JUPEB programme more valuable and probably makes up for it’s expensive cost.
It is ridiculous that on school campuses, JUPEB students are seen as “university wannabes” in a rather derogatory manner.There seems to be a rather unhealthy vibe associated with JUPEB and a wrong one at that, that even causes some intending JUPEB students to shy away from doing the programme.
However, when you know the value of what you seek, it would mean little or nothing..
Weighing the two options of gaining admission critically, they both seems to have equal shares of merits and demerits which may not have been discussed exhaustively.
Regardless,both are very valid and the determining factor to success in any, would be sheer hard work and a strong determination to succeed.
It is good that more awareness about the JUPEB programme is created so that more students can gain admission into the universities.
