Well, if this is your question or related ones, I will be answering your questions with practical experience. For the introduction, let's get a few things right.
- IJMB and JUPEB are the most common A'level courses/programs in Nigeria. Universities such as UNILAG, OAU, UNN, UNIBEN, LASU, UNILORIN, UNIOSUN, to mention a few, are running these programs. We also have affiliate and study centers to be prepared for.
- During the programs or after, you're to obtain JAMB direct entry (DE) form to process 200-level admission to the same university or any other accepting the same A'level program. When you're done with acceptable points, usually from 9 points to 16 points (the max), you'll be admitted into 200 level.
However, before obtaining the form for this program, most students already intend to go for specific courses. As you might have known, everybody wants to do Nursing, Medicine, Law, etc. The question now remains, do these universities faithfully give these students their intended courses after completing the programs or are they're just given any course or lower-end course? If yes, what are the requirements to make sure it's your course you're offered eventually?
Recommended: JAMB UTME Form Closed? Try These Options
IJMB and JUPEB Never Guarantee High-End Courses
As much as I wish to guarantee you that if you do IJMB or JUPEB, you should be able to get admission to any course of your choice, I'm sorry the story is not like that. In fact, it's always been a tug of war for candidates since the beginning of these programs to win their desired courses. However, back in time, with the maximum point of 16 or 15, most students were offered the exact courses they wanted.
It's not uncommon for students who fall short of the required points for the most competitive courses to be offered alternative or less competitive courses. In such scenarios, students who originally aspired for highly sought-after programs like Medicine may find themselves redirected to related fields such as Anatomy, Biochemistry, Microbiology, or other courses that may have fewer applicants or lower entry requirements.
This applies to other classes of discipline such as social science and arts. A student competing for Law might be dropped to History and International Relations or a student chasing Accounting might end up in Marketing.
Recommended: DE Applicants: How to If JAMB Has Verified Your Result
Today, Even With 15/16 Points, High-End Courses Are Not Guaranteed
The situation appears to be escalating, potentially fueled by the growing awareness of the benefits associated with A'level programs. The reliability of achieving admission with 15 or 16 points, which was once a common understanding, seems to be diminishing. Nowadays, it is increasingly rare to find universities that unequivocally guarantee automatic qualification for highly competitive courses like Medicine or Pharmacy based solely on a high JUPEB score.
This shift raises concerns about the transparency and consistency of admission processes, leaving students uncertain about the direct correlation between their academic achievements in A'level programs and guaranteed admission into their desired courses. It may be imperative for educational institutions to revisit and clarify their admission policies to ensure fairness and maintain the trust of prospective students engaging in these preparatory programs.
Recently, I conducted interviews with participants in the JUPEB programs at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). These students achieved a remarkable 16 points. Interestingly, more than 40 students who aspired to pursue Medicine and Nursing also attained this score. However, the university, facing capacity constraints for Direct Entry (DE) admissions, decided to mitigate the situation by subjecting these high-achieving students to an additional examination.
This raises concerns about the fairness of the process. One might question the ethicality of a university that, having prepared students for an external examination in which they succeeded, subsequently administered an apparently unnecessary internal exam, potentially leading to unfavorable outcomes for the students. Is this practice a legitimate and justifiable measure, or does it border on being perceived as a scam?
This case is not limited to OAU; some universities, even though might not make it open, will find a way to just force even the A'level students to go for courses they never want to do. Almost all these universities will tell their students to still obtain JAMB UTME. This, they will tell them, is just a backup in case they don't do well in the JUPEB or IJMB. This is another cunning way to give you a 100-level admission instead of the 200-level one you're seeking through the IJMB and JUPEB.
In fact, a school, with the name withheld, lured his students it couldn't accommodate to 200 level, to accept 100-level admission for desired courses or accept any other courses given to them for 200-level.
Recommended: DE Applicants: How to If JAMB Has Verified Your Result
So, What's Your Fate? What To Believe?
No matter what they tell you, don't believe them in detail. Don't assume once you have 16 points, the university won't have any other choice than to offer your desired course. The ball is in their courts!
Let's be practical! When you're going for A'level programs, just believe that it's not only an avenue to secure a 200-level admission but a means to groom or regroom yourself academically. We all agree on one thing - people who go through IJMB and JUPEB are better off.
Then, during your program, obtain the year's JAMB UTME form instead of DE form. Although your target is DE, start with UTME. You'll sit for JAMB UTME and let your JAMB score determine your next step. If you pass your JAMB and get the score high enough to compete for your desired course at 100 level, you should better go for that. It won't matter saving one year again if your intended course is achieved at 100-level than to get an unintended course at 200-level.
If, however, your JAMB UTME score is below your competing level for the course at 100-level, you should upgrade your UTME to DE before your school will be selling its post UTME/DE form. So, instead of using the JAMB UTME to process admission to 100-level, you're using the JUPEB result to process admission to 200-level. Getting a not-desired course at 200-level sometimes can be better off than a not-desired course at 100-level.
Recommended: List of Items Required For Direct Entry (DE) Registration
Conclusion
I won't deny the fact that there is a need for the government to intervene in the anomaly going on with these schools running the IJMB and JUPEB. A student that deserves a course should be given or the university should discontinue the program if they lack the capacity. Better still, they should not admit more students than they can cater for when going to 200-level.
However, it's what it is - at least for now. So, my professional take is that A'level program is still great and can be the best way to refurbish yourself academically and set out into the university hot world. Hence, you're losing nothing if that matters to you as well. With strategic planning too, considering what works between UTME and DE, you're still better off.
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