JAMB UNCOVERS 706,189 ILLEGAL ADMISSIONS BY VARSITIES, OTHERS

The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede on Tuesday said the agency has uncovered 706,189 illegal admissions by universities, Colleges of Education, polytechnics and other allies.

Oloyede made the disclosures at the Consultative Sensitization Meeting with Select Stakeholders in Abuja said the illegal admissions have damaged the image of the country.

He said the illegality was perpetrated in all the six geopolitical zones by public and private higher institutions. While about 114 universities accounted for 67.795 of the illegal admissions, 137 polytechnics were responsible for 489,918, 80 Colleges of Education for 142, 818 and 37 other institutions involved in 5,678 cases.

The undisclosed admissions were perpetrated from 2017 to 2020 by the affected institutions.He said such admissions were unknown to JAMB as prescribed by law.But the Minister of Education has assented to JAMB’s plea for a last chance for the violators.

He said the institutions disregarded JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS which allows institutions to “only admit candidates that met the requirements.”He said the affected institutions’ Vice Chancellors, Rectors and Provosts have admitted their mistakes by “sending a formal letter of confession and disclosure to the JAMB Registrar.

In the list of the 114 universities given to stakeholders, some of top indicted for illegal admissions include University of Jos(7,600); Benue State University(6,171); Olabisi Onabanjo University(5,669); Kwara State University(4, 281); Novena University(3,432); University of Nigeria, Nsukka(2,732); and Imo State University(2,330).

Others listed were University of Nigeria, Nsukka(2,732); Imo State University(2,330); University of Calabar(2,074); NTA Television College(1,934); Baze University(1,717); Oduduwa University(1,450); Kaduna State College of Education(1,417); Tai Solarin University of Education(1,101); Al-qalam University(1,062); Gombe State University(1,017).Oloyede said: “As a measure of mopping up the backlog of improperly admitted candidates, the Honourable Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, assented to the Board’s plea for a last chance for the violators.

“He also approved the caveat that the culprits should, first and foremost, declare the number of candidates admitted outside CAPS between 2017 and 2020 by sending a formal letter of confession and disclosure to the JAMB Registrar.“Those minimally qualified would then be condoned to put an end to the period and finally put the matter to rest.

“The Board was then directed to launch massive campaigns to educate the public against accepting such illegal admissions henceforth.“It is astonishing that so far, 706,189 candidates have been disclosed as illegally admitted between 2017 and 2020.”