Senate probes JAMB over alleged admission racketeering

The Senate has mandated its Committees on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Tertiary Education and TETFund, to investigate alleged admission racketeering and other unwholesome practices by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.

This was a sequel to a motion titled: “Urgent need to curtail the practice of undisclosed admissions and other unwholesome practices by JAMB and Universities, particularly the University of Nigeria, Nsukka,” sponsored by Sen. Nwebonyi Onyeka Peter (APC, Ebonyi North)

While presenting his motion, Mr Peter said, “The Senate: Notes that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), was established in 1978, originally, with the mandate to regulate admissions into Nigeria Universities through the university matriculation examination (UME);

“Also notes that the duties of JAMB were later expanded to include regulating admissions into other higher or tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria, prompting the change of nomenclature of the entrance examination from the UME to the United Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), to include entrance into Nigerian Universities, Polytechnics, Mono-technics, and Colleges of Education;

“Further notes that JAMB initially offered provisional admissions into tertiary institutions on awaiting result status but stopped it on the ground that many applicants who were offered such admissions abused the awaiting result life-line by not obtaining the qualifying results for the admissions till their graduation;

“Informed that the authorities of Tertiary Institutions, in cahoots with some JAMB officials have reverted to the practice of provisional admissions into prized professional courses like Medicine and Surgery, Pharmacy, Law, Engineering, Nursing Science, etc. to shortchange some students already offered admission in exchange for gratification.

“Also informed of the travails of one Miss Chinyere Ekwe and 290 others who were admitted to study medicine and surgery at the University of Nigeria Nsukka but had their admissions truncated on the order of JAMB for No plausible reason, after they had completed the admission processes and resumed lectures.”

Mr Peter cited the case of one Chinyere Ekwe, who he said scored 291 out of 400 available marks in the 2019 UTME and 300 in the university’s post-UTME, which qualified her for the course and was subsequently admitted by the university.

According to him, the Senate was informed that the said Miss Ekwe was transferred to the Department of Medical Laboratory Science on the ground that if her cumulative grade point was up to 4.5 points after the first year, she would be transferred back to medicine and surgery.

He, therefore, prayed that the Senate resolve to compel JAMB to give an admission letter to Miss Ekwe to study Medicine and Surgery Science without further delay.

However, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio said the allegations contained in the motion were weighty and that it would be hasty for the Senate to take a stand without first carrying out a thorough investigation.

After conferring with his colleagues, Mr Akpabio constituted the joint committee to investigate the matter and report back to the Senate before the Senate could take a definite stand.