FG approves scrapping of UTME, NECO, NAPEP, others

THE Federal Government has apparently resolved to scrap some of its agencies in line with the recommendations of the Stephen Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies following its completion of study of its White Paper Committee.

The committee had recommended the abolition of 38 agencies, the merger of 52 and the reversion of 14 to departments  in the ministries from  which they were carved out, a move the committee argued would save more than N862 billion between 2012 and 2015 if the government carried out what the panel has proposed.

Top government sources confirmed in Abuja on Tuesday night that President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo and select senior aides of the president met twice and eventually took decisions which included the scrapping of some agencies and merging of others.

Among those scrapped are Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UMTE), National Examination Council (NECO), Public Complaints Commission, National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) and the Fiscal Mobilization and Allocation Commission among others.

The sources revealed that with the scrapping of the UTME, individual universities in the country would conduct their own admission examinations and admit students while the Joint Admission and Matriculation and Board will set and ensure compliance to standards as it acts as the clearing house.

This is to be modeled along the line of Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS), the central organization through which applications are processed for entry into higher education in the United Kingdom.

While confirming the fate of UTME, a source volunteered that “individual university will do their own examination and admission,” adding, “if you want to apply to a university, you do so but in order not to have a situation where one person gets multiple admission, JAMB acts a clearing house to free up spaces. All the universities are free now to admit students.”

Even though details were still being worked out, it was learnt that government’s decision was informed by the need to promote merit in admission into the nation’s universities because “the idea is to ensure that the best students go to the best universities.”

The president has also approved that the West African Examination Council (WAEC) is now expected to take over the functions and vast infrastructure of NECO which now ceases to exist.

The sources confirmed that WAEC would now conduct two external examinations in a year with one done in January while the second would be conducted in November of every year.

The Public Complaints Commission is to be merged with the Human Rights Commission just as NAPEP will also be scrapped to be replaced with National Agency for Job Creation and Empowerment.

It will be recalled that  Oronsaye-led Presidential Committee on the Rationalisation made far-reaching recommendations which it explained were aimed at helping the government to effect a drastic reduction in  the size of its bloated bureaucracy, eliminating  duplication of functions and bringing down  the cost of governance.

The committee submitted its report to the president in April last year.