UTME not too difficult to pass — Nigeria’s youngest chartered accountant

Nigeria’s youngest chartered accountant, Osasere Okundaye, has said the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination is not excessively difficult to pass, arguing that the quality of education available to students has a greater impact on performance than lowering admission standards.

Okundaye, a 16-year-old, spoke during an interview on ARISE Television on Sunday.

She was commenting on the ongoing debate over JAMB performance, admission cut-off marks, and standard of education in the country.

The teenager, who recently became Nigeria’s youngest chartered accountant after qualifying through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, said she had written UTME twice and believed students could perform well if they received quality education and adequate support.

“I feel that JAMB is not too difficult to pass,” she said.

She explained that she first sat the examination after finishing secondary school just to gain experience, as she was not planning to seek admission at the time, before taking it again the following year.

Okundaye, however, acknowledged that educational standards differ significantly across the country, making it difficult to compare students’ performances.

I understand that it depends on the quality of education that you are receiving.

“I went to a private school in Lagos. So, there are different standards of education across Nigeria.

“I can’t use my case as a single indicator of the quality across board. I understand that the level of education being provided at different schools would impact how students will be able to perform in those examinations.

And you can’t say JAMB should like create different examinations for everyone, but the cut-off for certain institutions, I believe they exist there for a reason,” she said.

She argued that reducing admission cut-off marks was not the solution to poor performance in JAMB examinations.

“I don’t think bringing the standard down is the solution.

“I believe moves should be made to improve the quality of education that students are receiving in schools to help them perform better.

“I think increasing the resources given to people to reach that standard is the solution instead,” she said.

According to her, Nigerian youths have the ability to excel academically if they are provided with the necessary support.

“I believe young people have the ability; they have the potential, so they would be able to perform if they are given additional resources and additional guidance,” she added.

Okundaye recently made history by becoming Nigerians Youngest chartered accountant at the age of 16 after successfully completing the rigorous ICAN professional examinations.

Her achievement surpassed the previous record set in 2022 by Jonathan Adewale, who qualified as Nigeria’s youngest chartered accountant at the age of 17.

She had earlier disclosed that she failed one of her final professional examination paper rewriting and passing it, describing the setback as part of her three-year journey to qualification.