JAMB Knocks Tertiary Institutions Charging Fees For ‘Regularisation’

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has said it received fresh complaints from some parents and students that some academic institutions now charge between N10,000 and N80,000 for ‘regularisation’ of their admission details with JAMB.

This is after several threats it issued vowing to sanction tertiary institutions involved in what it described as illegal or irregular admission exercises,

The examination body, which condemned the conduct, distanced itself from the payments describing it as exploitative.

In a statement issued on Friday and signed by JAMB’s head of public affairs and protocol, Fabian Benjamin, said it had stopped ‘regularising’ admission for anyone offered admission illegally beginning from 2017.

JAMB, however, noted that for those offered admission before 2017 and require such regularisation, they are only required to pay a maximum amount of N5,000 for the unified tertiary matriculation examination form to the examination body and not to any other institution.

The statement reads in part; “The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has received complaints from some parents and students that one or two institutions are collecting money ranging from N10,000 to N80,000 from candidates purportedly for the processing of late or irregular admissions.

“The Board unequivocally dissociates itself from this exploitative act as it has not requested any institution to collect any fee on its behalf. The Board also does not demand or accept any fee from any of the institutions.

“It will be recalled that the Board had announced the stoppage of confinement of illegal admission (Deceitfully called Regularization) from 2017. This was to address the irregularities in the admission process, ensure the accuracy of admissi65Yon statistics as well as ensure transparency in the admission process.”

JAMB also blamed the institutions for what it described as wanton disregard for regulations and ministerial directive, saying the institutions were fond of offering admission to desperate candidates through the backdoor.

“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 (Regularisation) 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,” the statement added.

It added that the various submissions by each institution are being given necessary considerations before the affected candidates could be captured in its database.