Consolidating on the achievements of the last five years in JAMB

The words of the Pulitzer Prize Twinner and American poet, Robert Lee Frost (1874-1963), in his poem, “The road not taken,” appear quite relevant to the context in which this piece is rightly situated: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference.”

When Prof. Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede assumed duty in 2016 as the fifth Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for his first tenure, he had reeled off a five-point agenda which he maintained, would form the fulcrum of his administration.

In his inaugural speech, christened “Let’s Do it Together: The Biggest Room in the World”, the Registrar listed Welfare as his first priority with Discipline, Technology, Transparency and Networking as the other pillars on which he intended to rebuild and ultimately transform the Board. He has delivered on all these as indicated by the staff of the Board, candidates and stakeholders alike.

His mantra, as was to be ascertained later by his actions during the first tenure, is to ensure that the Board achieve pride of place among public examination bodies globally and, in tandem with the policy thrusts of the present administration in the country.

All these were to be borne out by his actions as he immediately constituted a committee to bring up areas of improvement on staff welfare and capacity enhancement. Before the submission of the report, he reasoned that staff were not adequately involved in the critical responsibilities of the Board.

He opined that for staff to be in the driver’s seat, they should be trained and re-trained. Without delay, experts were engaged to train staff on all processes from the sale of application documents to the conduct of the examination.

Today, the processes from creation of profile for registration to admission are administered by the staff of the Board courtesy of the training programmes. All experts, by whatever name called, have been disengaged for staff to fully acquaint themselves with the processes.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, welfare is the health, happiness and fortunes of a person or group. This order is likely to be deliberate as health brings happiness and happiness engenders good fortune.

Indeed, this definition has occupied a prominent place in the workings of the Board. The concern or fear for health challenges has been erased through consistent interventions by the Board. Cases of staff who were assisted with money in mi l l ions abound.

The institutionalization of critical intervention especially as regards the health of its staff is a welcome development. It is also noteworthy that Management has gone through almost all the processes for the full implementation of the committee’s report. However, government approval is needed for any increase in salaries, allowances, any other such incremental and other needy areas as captured in the report.

 Another worthy achievement of the current leadership of the Board is its continued cost-cutting efforts which had gone a long way in facilitating the humongous remittances to federal coffers as well as financing other infrastructural undertakings of the Board.

 At the same time, successes recorded in this regard have undoubtedly proved that if things are done properly, the Board could even pay its workforce and pay better without taking a dime from the public treasury.

Furthermore, prudent management of resources has seen the improvement in the level of funding of some operational processes within the Board. Some of these include: doubling the quarterly allocation of State Offices and their listing on the TSA portal for effective and transparent transactions, end-of-year training allowances to staff, among others.

What is the essence of this essay? Basically, it is to share with noble colleagues, the kinds of efforts being made by the management to better their present conditions of service in the last five years and demand that they reciprocate same by redoubling their efforts at increasing their productivity in the Registrar’s second tenure.

Rome, as the saying goes, was not built in a day. Therefore, if there are other expectations yet to be met, then it should be borne in mind that the situation before the coming of Prof. Oloyede was far different from what obtains now. One thing is, however, clear and it is with the consolidation being seen that the Board and staff would have many reasons to continue to celebrate the appointment and reappointment of Prof. Oloyede.

Expectations abound from the public, staff and stakeholders on the return of Prof. Oloyede, the game-changer. It is also to be expected that the various transformations in the Board wrought through disciplined and judicious adherence to due process, have today given every member of staff a sense of pride. It is a truism that when public servants are seen with an amplified image of incompetence, the same cannot be said of staff of the Board.

 As the Board consolidates on all its achievements in the last five years, a c o m m it m e n t t o tr a n s p a r e n c y, accountability, diligence and excellence by staff should be exhibited through prompt delivery of services, effective goal accomplishments.

As common with most public institutions where noble progress is hardly sustained, it is exciting to see the Registrar on his return expending more energy on putting in place methods and strategies that would enshrine permanently, the internal capacity of staff and public acceptance which are today visible in the number of agencies patronising the Board for third-party consultancy.

In terms of networking, the Board had fostered strong relationship with tertiary institutions, to ensure that, as stakeholders, they are carried along in the affairs of the Board. In addition, inclusiveness, which involves deepening the involvement of critical stakeholders from all strata of the society in the Board’s processes, is a key plank of the present administration of the Board.

Professor Oloyede has consistently maintained that in an interconnected world, no one can be an island. As such, he has made it clear that trainings, programmes, seminars, conferences and roundtables are tools that facilitate networking.

 Consequently, he has continued to show cause why the Board would not take any major policy decision without inputs from all its stakeholders be they labour, the media, teachers, etc.

 Also, in its bid to checkmate examination malpractice, the Board has introduced the use of the National Identification Number (NIN) during the 2021UTME Registration Exercise to eliminate impersonation and other unwholesome practices.

 The most remarkable aspect of the second coming is its promise of institutionalisation of all that had been done in the last five years. Suffice to say that Prof. Oloyede has chosen to toe a path, which if emulated by other Nigerians in public service, will lead the country out of the woods.

Remember, change begins with you and me!

JAMBulletin