JAMB Dissociates Self from Extortion in Public Institutions

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has dissociated itself from all exploitative acts, saying that it had not requested any institution to collect any fee on its behalf.

The Board reacted to complaints it received from some parents and students that one or two institutions were collecting money ranging from N10,000 to N80,000 from candidates purportedly for the processing of late or irregular admissions.

In a statement signed by the Board’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the Board said it does not also demand or accept any fee from any of the institutions.
He added that it was the seemingly hopeless situation of candidates seeking condonement since 2017 that prompted the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu to graciously give approval for a final round of waiver.

Also, candidates with similar challenges who were admitted before 2017, can simply go online and pay a fee of not more than N5,000 for the UTME Registration form which they had failed to obtain ab initio. Their details would afterwards be captured, scrutinised and if minimally qualified then letters of admission would be released to them.

“It will be recalled that the Board had announced the stoppage of condonement of illegal admission, deceitfully called regularisation from 2017. This was to address the irregularities in the admission process, ensure the accuracy of admission statistics as well as ensure transparency in the admission process.
“It was therefore, a rude shock to the management of the Board to receive the disheartening news of this barefaced exploitation of hapless and desperate students.

“It is to be borne in mind that these candidates are in their present predicament, in the first instance, as a result of the wanton disregard of extant regulations by some institutions leading to the conduct of underhand or backdoor admissions thus creating room for the avalanche of requests for condonement which had long been discontinued by the Board on the directive of the government.

“It was the seemingly hopeless situation of candidates seeking condonement that prompted the Hon. Minister of Education to graciously give approval for a final round of waiver or condonement,” he said.

Meanwhile, the various submissions by each institution are being given necessary considerations before the affected candidates could be captured in the Board’s database.

“However, candidates with similar challenges who were admitted before 2017, can simply go online and pay a fee of not more than N5,000 for the UTME Registration form which they had failed to obtain ab initio. Their details would afterwards be captured, scrutinised and if minimally qualified then letters of admission would be released to them.”