Over 28,000 candidates on Wednesday began sitting for the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination for only 3,500 admission spaces into the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Last year over 22,000 candidates sat for the post-UTME examinations of the university.
The over 28,000 candidates for this year’s post-UTME have been divided into three batches by the university for the purpose of the examination whose conduct would last for three days.
The increase in the rate of human and vehicular movements in the area due to the large number of candidates sitting for the post-UTME exercise however caused traffic snarl on all roads leading to the FUNAAB campus at Alabata.
FUNAAB Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Olusola Oyewole, while monitoring the exercise, told newsmen that the increase in the number of candidates seeking admission into the university could be attributed to the confidence parents and candidates had in the institution.
Oyewole, who is also the president of the Association of African Universities, added that the stable academic calendar of FUNAAB could also be the major attraction to parents and admission seekers.
He said, “This year, we have 28,100 candidates sitting for this post-UTME examination. Really, it’s a reflection of the confidence of the parents and the candidates in the quality of education on offer in FUNAAB.
“It would interest you to know that in FUNAAB today, although ASUU is on strike, we have already concluded our second semester examination before the lecturers started their strike. We are a university committed to bringing out the leadership quality of our students. It’s a school of discipline, and a school that is interested in producing future leaders for this country.”
The VC added that the number of applicants had continued to rise because FUNAAB had always complied with the admission guidelines of the Joint Admission Matriculation Board.
Oyewole noted that unlike other universities, FUNAAB had exercised restraint regarding the usual practice whereby some universities usually increased the admission cut-off mark against JAMB’s dictate.
“FUNAAB is always compliant with JAMB directives. JAMB has set the cut-off mark for 180 and we have stood by it. If we have increased the mark to 200 like some other universities are doing, then we would probably have had a reduced number,” he said.
