JAMB Directs Varsities To Safeguard Integrity Of A’Level Certificates

BY NGOZI NWANKWO, ABUJA – The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has stressed the need for tertiary institutions in the country to safeguard the integrity of A’level certificates that are used to secure admission through measures that would stand the test of time.

This was as the Board announced that it has uncovered about 1,665 fake A’level results during the 2023 Direct Entry registration exercise.

JAMB explained that the A’level results verification regime was occasioned by the endemic corruption associated with the system and was intended to restore the integrity of this component of admission process.

JAMB Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, who stated these on Tuesday, when he received the leadership of the National Association of Nigeria Colleges of Education Students (NANCES) in his office.

Oloyede said out of the figure, 397 were from Colleges of Education, while 453 were university diplomas and the rest for other A’level certificates.

“It should be of grave concern if no one respects the certificate one is holding hence, there is need to safeguard the integrity of A’level certificates that is used to secure admission through measures that would stand the test of time,” Oloyede said.

The Registrar noted that in the past, when a candidate applied for Direct Entry, the Board would simply ask awarding institutions to do the necessary screening and due diligence.

He however said that JAMB was dumbfounded by the startling revelations from Bayero University, Kano (BUK), whereby out of the 148 Direct Entry applications to the institution, only six of the certificates forwarded for processing were genuine.

Oloyede further said that it was the discovery of the monumental fraud that prompted the meeting of critical stakeholders that met to chart ways of combating the menace.

He said that part of the measures suggested, was the constitution of an A’level result verification task force as well as the creation of a common platform for the verification of A’level results and certificates.

The JAMB boss said the platform was reliable and user-friendly as it only takes five minutes to verify any given certificate.