The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has expressed serious concerns over illegal admissions being conducted by some tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, revealed that the board has identified over 3,000 individuals falsely claiming to be university graduates.
During a meeting, Oloyede condemned the practice of illegal admissions, stating, “Some ‘graduates’ had never entered the four walls of a university due to the endemic corruption in the system.
The board has documented over 3,000 such cases. Illegal admission of candidates into tertiary institutions is an embarrassment and a disservice to the nation.”
The announcement follows a directive from the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education in December 2023, ordering JAMB to present a list of tertiary institutions involved in irregular and illegal admissions. JAMB had previously warned candidates against accepting admissions from such institutions without full academic participation.
In a statement titled “Cessation of Illegal/Irregular Admission,” JAMB reiterated that all admissions to first-degree programs, national diplomas, national innovation diplomas, and Nigeria certificates in education, whether full-time, part-time, distance learning, or otherwise, must be processed through JAMB.
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Speaking at the third matriculation ceremony of Thomas Adewumi University (TAU) in Kwara State, Oloyede emphasized that any admission not captured in its Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) is illegal, null, and void.
He urged institutions to adhere strictly to the CAPS process, which ensures transparency and eliminates human interference in the admission process.
JAMB also issued a stern warning to candidates seeking underhand admissions, stating that such actions would have consequences. The board’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle emphasized the need to process all tertiary institution admissions through JAMB, dismissing suggestions to improve the admission regularization process as an endorsement of illegality.
Prof. Oloyede highlighted the extensive issue of illegal admissions, citing that from 2017 to 2020, Nigerian tertiary institutions offered a total of 706,189 illegal admissions across universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and monotechnics.
He called for strict adherence to the CAPS system, designed to ensure quality control, transparency, and credibility in the admission process.
