2020 UTME: Anambra, Edo, Delta, Ekiti Candidates Records Highest Score – JAMB

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has revealed that states in Nigeria that had the best results in the 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

According to JAMB, the candidates who had the 10 best results are from Anambra, Edo, Delta, Ekiti, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Oyo, and Ogun states.

A further report revealed that all the candidates with the best score in UTME applied to study engineering.

Five of them desire to attend the University of Lagos while two of them listed Covenant University as their first choice.

Two of the candidates plan to attend Obafemi Awolowo University, two also applied to attend the University of Ilorin while one applied for Kwara State University and University of Ibadan.

The candidate with the best score in the 2020 UTME is Maduafokwa Egoagwuagwu Agnes from Anambra State who scored 365 over 400.

Nwobi Okwuchukwu David, also from Anambra State, came second with 363.

Two candidates, Ojuba Mezisashe Shalom and Elikwu Victor Chukwuemeka from Edo and Delta states respectively came third with a score of 359.

Adebola Oluwatobi Paul from Ekiti State took the 5th spot with 358, while Gboyega Oluwatobiloba Enoch, also from Ekiti State, took the 6th position at 356.

Ojo Samuel Oluwatobi from Ondo State and Utulu Jebose George jointly share the 7th position with a score of 355.

Osom Akan Awesome from Akwa Ibom took the 9th position with a score of 353.

Four candidates shared the 10th position with a score of 352.

They are Akakabota Fejiro Simeon from Delta State, Ogundele Favour Jesupemi from Kwara State, Alatise Monsura Bisola from Oyo State and Adelaja Oluwasemilore Daniel from Ogun.

Meanwhile, some students with high scores may not gain admission into the university of their choice, while those with lower scores may gain admission.

This is because the guideline for university admission in Nigeria is based on 45 per cent merit, 35 per cent on catchment area factor and 20 per cent on educationally disadvantaged areas factor.

Merit implies that candidates with high scores have a 45 per cent chance of gaining admission into the university of their choice while the catchments areas factor referrers to the locality of the university.

The Federal government under Nigerian Universities Commission states that 35 per cent of admitted students should be selected based on catchment area or the proximity of the university to their state of origin.

The third factor has been an issue of controversy for several years which gives the concession to persons from educationally disadvantaged states which are listed thus: Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Ebonyi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Kastina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.

The Head, Media and Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, while speaking on Wednesday said the rule of the catchment area and educationally advantaged states still applies.

He said, “The rule of the catchment area is still in place. I don’t know why people find it difficult to understand. Affirmative action is a global standard. It is done in the United States where blacks are given slots. Even Harvard University does it.”

“If a university is to admit 100 students, 45 of them will be given admission on merit then the second level is the catchment area. Every university is grouped in particular zones. The states that are within that catchment area you will look at the merit within those states.”

“For example for the University of Lagos, Lagos is the catchment area. It is located in the South-West and it has 35 slots, it can give slots to the best students within that zone.”

“The educationally disadvantaged issue is only 20 per cent of admission and it doesn’t mean that when a person doesn’t meet the minimum benchmark, he would be admitted. That is what it is. A person who scores 80 cannot be given admission.”