Universities divided over cancellation of ‘pass’ grade

Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie

National Universities Commission’s decision to abolish ‘pass’ in the grading system of universities raises questions over the agency’s powers, CHARLES ABAH writes

When the National Universities Commission gave the hint last academic session that the ‘pass’ degree would no longer be acceptable in the grading system in the nation’s universities, not many students and other stakeholders took the agency seriously.

Indeed, many felt that the universities’ ombudsman had other bigger responsibilities to cater to as a way of bringing sanity into the system.

Issues bordering on proper funding of universities, accommodating hundreds of students who annually fail to secure admissions and ensuring a better ranking of the nation’s universities, among others, were considered as paramount to occupy the time of the commission instead of just rolling out a fresh grading procedure.

But with the beginning of the 2014/2015 academic session and the accompanying matriculation ceremonies, fresh students are now inundated with advice from vice-chancellors that they need to work harder if truly they want to graduate in flying colours.

In fact, the remarks by the Vice Chancellor of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru, on Wednesday during the 2014/2015 matriculation of 4,133 students of the institution, has brought the NUC’s decision to abolish the pass grade in the nation’s university system to the front burner again.

According to Zuru, there is no going back on the E-grading system in the university and so every student should work harder to earn a good grade.

Zuru added, “This has far-reaching implications on the grading system of students in universities. This means that the minimum pass mark for courses in the universities will now be 45 per cent, that is, D-grade, instead of the previous 40 per cent, which was E-grade. It also means that the minimum class of degree to be earned by students will now be third class.”

Besides pass and third class, the other grades in the system are second class lower division, second class upper division and the first class – regarded as the apogee in the ranking.

But as Zuru and his colleagues are urging students to endeavour to live up to expectations, some concerned stakeholders are also faulting the fresh procedure.

The latter school of thought holds the view that upping the grading system is not an elixir to improving on the quality of education in the country. In their thinking, there is more to be done than merely adjusting the grading system.

According to a Lagos-based education consultant, Mr. Victor Jegede, the NUC’s decision is akin to putting the cart before the horse.

For him, the commission should first consider the quality of teachers and calibre of infrastructure in schools, among many other factors, before “throwing the baby and the bath water away.”

Jegede says, “Abolishing a pass degree will not end the decay in universities. Many of the schools do not have the facilities that will enhance teaching and learning. Rating of the universities by the international agencies has nothing to do with the grading system. It has more to do with availability of competent lecturers and modern facilities. I tell you, if these basic things are available, more and more students will excel.

“For our students to be competitive like their peers from across the globe, there is the need to expose them to creative researches and modern teaching facilities. Above all, the government needs to fund the sector well.”

Another consultant, Bola Kolawole, argues that grading is a mere graduation of scores, noting that the development will only further breed corruption in the system.

Examination malpractice, sorting (bribing of lecturers to gain some good grades), sales of handouts, cultism, prostitution among undergraduates as well as other social vices, Kolawole says, are serious areas of concern that need the urgent attention of the commission.

The emphasis, he says, should not be on grading system but on imparting quality knowledge to the students.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Ibadan chapter Chairman, Prof. Segun Ajiboye, sees the matter from another perspective. The idea, Ajiboye posits, limits the significance of the university autonomy and portrays once more the overbearing influence of the NUC.

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He declares, “The decision of the NUC to force the universities to stop awarding pass degree is unwarranted and part of the over-regulations, we have been crying about. University senates are supposed to be the highest academic decision-making organ in the universities. Each university has its own tradition and academic culture, which it should sustain and preserve.

“As a union, we believe this NUC’s position is against the university autonomy that our union fought for over the years. Our universities should strongly resist anything that will erode their hard-earned autonomy. Vice-Chancellors are custodians of universities’ traditions and they should resist the implementation of these draconian regulations that the NUC is churning out.

“Part of the illegalities coming from the NUC is to determine the number of first class graduates universities should produce. All stakeholders should challenge and oppose these illegalities.”

But another lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Dr. Fidelis Okoro, supports the NUC’s reasoning. The upgrading of the terminal pass mark, Okoro says, is a step in the right direction, if there is proper implementation.

The measure, he adds, is to make the students work harder; improve their knowledge and consequently the grade with which they would graduate.

According to the lecturer, in a certificate-conscious society like ours, any improvement in the value of that document is welcome.

He adds, “Education should not be just for personal edification. It should have utilitarian value. Every educated person should have something to contribute to society. The often-heard cry from employers that Nigerian university graduates are unemployable is in fact an acknowledgment of this utilitarian value of education.

“Even if the people who say that examination is not the best test of knowledge are right, a point often put across without presenting an alternative, we have to accept that it is the only test we have and that it is also time-tested. For that reason, every effort being put in place to improve teaching, improve skills acquisition, and improve the value of university certificates is welcome. The recent upgrading of the terminal pass mark from 40 to 45 per cent, that is from E to D, is a step in the right direction.”

The VC of Wesley University of Science and Technology, Ondo, Prof. Tola Badejo, agrees with Okoro, saying his institution has never awarded any pass grade. The VC, who says the authorities of the institution never believed in the issuance of pass grade, adds that it has nothing to do with academic quality.

He adds, “We have measures in place to assist students who ordinarily would have obtained a pass grade. We do this by extending their stay to do more courses to be in the honours degrees.

“I have never awarded any pass grade here. So it is like NUC is toeing our line. When parents pay heavily for the education of their children, I don t think what that students deserve is a pass grade. So for us at Wesley, it does not make sense at all awarding a pass grade. Therefore, the NUC decision is right.”

But Badejo’s colleague at the Caleb University, Imota, Lagos State, Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju, faults the move, noting that not all graduates must earn the same grades.

The professor of History says, “If it is a quality control measure, then the NUC must have misfired. I do not think the rationale is fair because in every academic system, there is going to be those on the first class grade at one end and others at the other extreme.

“Accepted, this is an era of democratisation, it will not be proper to group all candidates within the same scoring/grading bracket. Some individuals are talented, others are not; some are late starters while many others are not. Besides, that one earns a pass does not mean that one will remain totally a failure in life. It is just evidence that somebody attended a university but did not measure up to the other grades in the system.”