Provost decries lack of varsity admission slots for IJMB candidates

Patrick Birmiap, Provost, College of Arts and Science, Kurgwi, in Plateau State, has decried the lack of university admission slots for candidates that sat for the Interim Joint Matriculation Board examinations.
Birmiap expressed the concern on Friday when he visited Prof. Yohana Izam, the pioneer Provost of the college, who was recently appointed Vice Chancellor, Plateau State University, Bokkos.
He said: “Students read very hard at the College so as to secure admission into the university but end up ignored by institutions that constitute their catchment areas.
“Enrollment into the Kurgwi college has gradually thinned out because students are no longer confident of securing admission.
“If the situation continues, the college will suffer.”
Birmiap urged the Vice Chancellor to create more slots for the IJMB students, saying that most of them had turned out to be excellent when admitted into universities.
The provost congratulated Izam over his appointment, and expressed confidence that he would make the university a world class centre of learning.
Responding, the Vice Chancellor advised the students of the college to strive to score a minimum of nine points so as to secure admission into the university.
He said: “Gone are the days when students aimed at five to six points in their IJMB examinations.
“With the changing narrative in the education sector today, nothing less than nine points are required for admission in PLASU.”
Izam advised the college’s management to encourage students to target high points, assuring that those with such good results would be accepted into the university.
He said: “We have deliberately created an opening for them to come through Direct Entry, once they score such points.
“I wish to assure the management of CAS that PLASU is ready to admit products of the college into its already accredited 17 degree programmes.”
The Vice Chancellor said that the state university and CAS had the same vision of producing qualified and qualitative manpower for Plateau State and Nigeria, and urged CAS management to step up standards to ease the acceptance of its products.