The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed thestates of origin of 13 candidates with the top 10 best results in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
The list revealed two students had same score while another three had same points in the UTME examination respectively.
The examination body also informed that 3 of the listed candidates were from Lagos, 1 from kogi, 1 from FCT, 3 from Ogun, 2 from Oyo, 1 fromRivers and Kano respectively.
Five of them applied to study at the University of Lagos, while two of them choosed Convenant University as their first choice, two listed Obafemi Awolowo University, two also selected University of Ilorin, while Kwara State University and University of Ibadan were the choices for one candidate each.
Maduofokwu Egoagwuagwu Agnes from Anambra State scored 356 over 400 to rank as the highest UTME score in Nigeria.
Another candidate from Anambra state, Nwobi Okechukwu David scored 363 to come second. Ojuba Mezisashe Shalom and Elikwe Victor Chukwuemeka, both from Edo and Delta states respectively scored 359 to share the third position.
A candidate from Ekiti State, Adebola Oluwato bi Paul scored 358 to secure the 5th position while Gboyega Oluwatobi Enoch , also from Ekiti State took the 6th position with 356.
Two candidates, Ojo Samuel Oluwatobi who hails from Ondo State and Utulu George had a score of 355 to share the 7th position.
Osam Akan Awesome from Akwa Ibom State scored 353 to placed 9th.
Akakabota Fejiro Simeon from Delta State, Ogundele Favour Jesupemi from Kwara State, Alatise Oluwa Semilore Daniel from Ogun all shared the 10th position with a score of 352.
The 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, this arrangement does not guarantee student with high score to gain admission into the university of their choice while those with lower score may gain admission.
The National University 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.
Another factor is concession given to persons from educational disadvantage state which include: Adamawa, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Ebonyi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara.
He said “The rule of catchment area is still in place. I don’t know why people find its difficult to understand Affirmative action is a global standard it is done in United State. 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 the catchment area you will look at the merit within othose 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 student within that zone.
“The educationally disadvantaged issue is only 20 percent of admission and it doesn’t mean that when a person doesn’t meet the minimum bench mark, he would be admitted that is what it is. A person who scores 80 cannot be given admission”.
It would be recalled that a 15year old boy Ekele Franklin from Anambra State scored 347 to emerged as the overall best candidate in the 2019 Unified Tertiary Martriculation Examination.
