Tertiary Institutions Set June 15 as Deadline for 2020 Admissions

By Kuni Tyessi

All admissions into the nation’s tertiary institutions for the 2020/2021 academic session will end by June 15, 2021.

The decision was collectively taken at a virtual meeting with heads of tertiary institutions in the country on Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

In his remarks during the event, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, said the meeting was aimed at knowing the level they had reached on the 2020/21 admissions scale.

Oloyede, who said only 30 per cent of institutions had started admissions into the 2020/2021 academic session, added that the essence of the interactive meeting was to forestall an endless admission regime generated by the series of disruptions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the meeting would enable the Board to put necessary machinery in place for the 2021/2022 UTME/DE registration exercise.

He stated that there was the need to collectively decide when to close the 2020/2021 admission exercise, adding that the proposal was for public universities to end admissions four weeks ahead of private universities, the polytechnics, colleges of education and IEIs.

Oloyede reiterated that the chosen deadlines remained sacrosanct and binding on all institutions as the Board would not tolerate any breaches of the collective decision reached at the meeting.

He said the Board would announce in a week’s time the commencement date for the sale of application documents for the 2021/2022 academic session.

He said: “All admissions in the nation’s tertiary institutions for the 2020/2021 academic session would end by 15th June, 2021.

“JAMB would not be a party to any improper transfer or breach of set guidelines. Adequate measures or checks must be done to verify if such candidates meet minimum requirements or possess the prerequisite qualifications to be in the institution in the first instance.”

Meanwhile, the Board has urged all institutions to adhere strictly to all advisories issued to them on inter/intra-university transfers, foreign inter-university transfers and fresh foreign candidates, change of programmes and institutions and other essential processes related to admission in order to avoid unnecessary bickering that could endanger the future of innocent candidates and their subsequent mobilization for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) service.

He added that the advisories and procedures were to serve as guides for them on how to handle the various issues as they arose.

The Registrar disclosed that transfer of candidates within institutions locally or internationally is an acceptable process as approved by the senate or council of the respective institutions but said that due process must be followed.

He pointed out that the Board, as a responsible organisation and gate keeper, would not allow the process to be circumvented to allow unqualified candidates to gain access to the nation’s institutions.