The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called on the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to immediately rescind its decision to halt regularisation of university admissions from 2017 to 2019, saying the policy is anti-students and irrational.
NANS also described JAMB’s style of administration as autocratic and a misrepresentation of the purpose for its establishment.
A statement signed by its public relations officer, Comr. Victor Ezenagu, and made available to journalists, Monday, explained that the resolve by JAMB to suspend regularisation of admissions through the Central Administration Processing System (CAPS) for students who got admitted from 2017, 2018 and 2019 after paying N5,000 and N8,500, respectively is totally unacceptable.
The students’ body said the implication of non-regularisation of admission is that students whose admissions are not reguralised may not be able to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme as their admission is termed illegal.
The statement further stated that while admission regularisation was a statutory function of JAMB, it was regrettable that a public institution will decide to shelve its responsibility without due recourse to the law that established it.
The student umbrella body also alleged that while JAMB had made public its decision to halt regularisation of admissions, it was secretly carrying out selective regularisation especially of children of the elite.
“Our attention has been drawn to a draconian decision of JAMB not to regularise admissions done from 2017, 2018 and 2019 for unclear reasons. It is highly regrettable that at a time when the nation is making frantic efforts to ensure that youths are given opportunity to acquire education, JAMB is desperately trying to frustrate the efforts.
“It is sad that JAMB has in recent times deviated from its responsibility. It is either engaged in one friction or the other with universities over admission processes. JAMB needs to be reminded that it was not established as a revenue generating organisation but to coordinate admission procedures into Nigeria Universities,” the statement noted.
NANS also accused the management of JAMB of treating its staff with disdain in a democratic setting, where the rights of staff are trampled upon with impunity statement averred
NANS therefore called on the management of JAMB to urgently address the issues raised, adding that it will not hesitate to occupy JAMB offices nationwide to insist that the right things are done in the interest of students and the nation in general.
