JAMB Raises Alarm Over 3,000 Fake Graduates

• Warns about dire consequences of illegal admissions

BY EDMOND ODOK – The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has raised an alarm over the damage being done to Nigeria’s education system by rising cases of illegal admissions into higher institutions nationwide.

Warning against the dire consequences of this harmful practice, the Examination body disclosed uncovering over 3,000 fake graduates who never set foot within the four walls of a classroom not alone graduating from the schools that continue to encourage the criminal acts.

Clearly frowning at the notoriety of some institutions in promoting and encouraging illegal admissions, JAMB said the development is a sad commentary about the existing system and remains a source of huge embarrassment to Nigeria.

The JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, spoke about the disturbing situation in a report published by JAMB’s bulletin quoting his engagement with the leadership of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State Universities recently in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

He said in the bulletin thus; “Some ‘graduates’ had never entered the four walls of a university owing to the endemic corruption in the system and the board has documented over 3,000 of such cases.

“Illegal admission of candidates into tertiary institutions in the country is an embarrassment and a disservice to the nation,” the bulletin further stated.

With the issue of illegal admissions being among JAMB’s priority focus over the years, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education, in December 2023, ordered the Examination body to present a list of tertiary institutions that had conducted irregular and illegal admissions.

Also in cautioning candidates to desist from accepting admissions offered by such institutions without full academic participation, JAMB had, in a statement titled; “Cessation of illegal/irregular admission”, reiterated that all applications of admissions to first degree, national diploma, national innovation diploma and the Nigeria certificate in education into full-time, distance learning, part-time, outreach, sandwich, etc, must be processed only through JAMB.

In another development, prospective students seeking enrolment in the Nigerian Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and other open distance learning centres must now register through JAMB for proper documentation and record keeping.

This directive also extends to all candidates who are now required to provide their unique National Identification Number (NIN) during registration.

According to JAMB, this move seeks to curb fraudulent activities and ensure the integrity of candidates’ records, stressing that the registration process would be made as seamless as possible.

A JAMB advisory on the registration process further said; “As part of measures to checkmate the nefarious activities of fraudulent characters, who are scheming to compromise candidates’ records through dubious registration channels and in compliance with its enabling act, JAMB has mandated that all applicants desirous of studying in Nigerian tertiary institutions must provide their NIN while registering for any programme of study in any tertiary institutions in Nigeria irrespective of whether the mode of study is regular and non-regular.”

Furthermore, the advisory highlighted that all prospective candidates in non-regular categories, such as NOUN, Distance Learning, part-time, and sandwich programmes, must create a profile code before registering with JAMB.

It said this can be done by sending their NIN through their unique phone number to either of its sort codes (55019 or 66019), adding that the directive also affects previous candidates in non-regular programmes who have not yet integrated their NIN or unique phone number into the JAMB platform.

Required to create a profile using their respective NINs to access any of JAMB’s services, the advisory further said; “JAMB, as a responsive organisation, will continue to make the registration process as flexible as possible by making its platform available throughout the year.

“It is, therefore, expected that candidates, who fall under this category, will apply through JAMB before approaching their preferred institutions to process their admission with their respective JAMB registration numbers.

“They would also be expected to pay their preferred institution a processing fee as determined by respective institutions”.