Tough times as direct entry candidates keep vigil at JAMB Lagos office

Many applicants in the ongoing registration for this year’s Direct Entry (DE) into universities and polytechnics in Nigeria are facing tough times registering with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The situation is so bad at the Lagos office of the examination body as some of the applicants are sleeping at the board’s headquarters to enable them to register.

The DE candidates accused the examination body of insensitivity and “inhumane” treatment.

A video making rounds online showed some applicants sleeping on the road and outside the JAMB office premises in Ikoyi, while it was learnt that some applicants arrived as early as 5:00 a.m. at the board’s headquarters.

Many applicants in the ongoing registration for this year’s Direct Entry (DE) into universities and polytechnics in Nigeria are facing tough times registering with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The situation is so bad at the Lagos office of the examination body as some of the applicants are sleeping at the board’s headquarters to enable them to register.

The DE candidates accused the examination body of insensitivity and “inhumane” treatment.

A video shared with Edugist showed some applicants sleeping on the road and outside the JAMB office premises in Ikoyi, while it was learnt that some applicants arrived as early as 5:00 a.m. at the board’s headquarters.

The DE registration, earlier scheduled to end on April 20, was extended to continue after the computer-based Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which ended on May 6.

Meanwhile, the examination body has blamed the candidates for waiting until the last minute before showing up for registration.

JAMB spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, however, said the board would ensure that all candidates willing to register for the DE, particularly those who have purchased their PINs, are registered.

Benjamin said it is typical for candidates to besiege registration centres at the last minute, noting that the JAMB offices have been “empty” before this time.

He explained that the board is adopting new initiatives in this year’s DE registration to curb the use of fake A-level results by candidates; a situation he said is rampant.

The JAMB spokesperson recalled how Bayero University, Kano (BUK) expelled almost 200 students for presenting fake A-level results.

He said: “Don’t forget that we introduced measures to check some of those recoveries that we’ve made in recent times. We have come to discover that some of the most abused process certifications are all these A-level certificates.

“What we’ve done is to ensure that registration is only conducted in our own offices. It’s just an entry measure, but this year, we are trying to use that as a pilot programme to see what is actually happening – how these candidates forged A-level results, and were able to actually enter into the system.”

By next year, he said the board would have discovered all the antics being used and come up with measures to address them.

He, however, said the board would ensure that all candidates willing to register for the DE are allowed to register.

“When we started the registration, the offices were nearly empty, and candidates were not coming. So, you can imagine where these people are coming from at this particular point in time. But as a responsible organisation, we will do everything possible, especially for candidates who have purchased the PINs to register,”

The board listed the acceptable A-level results for this year’s DE registration to include a university diploma, Ordinary National Diploma (OND), National Diploma (ND), Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), Higher National Diploma (HND) and a university degree.

Others are Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB), Joint Universities Preliminary Examination Board (JUPED), NABTEB Advanced National Business Certificate, NABTEB Advanced National Technical Certificate, NABTEB GCE-A’ Level (2015 – 2021), Higher Islamic Studies Certificate by NBAIS, International Baccalaureate and the National Registered Nurse/ Midwife certificates.