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Tag: Is-haq Oloyede

  • Oloyede: 15,000 candidates forged admission letters for NYSC mobilisation

    Oloyede: 15,000 candidates forged admission letters for NYSC mobilisation

    • 17 deputy VCs, deputy registrars, JAMB workers in ICPC custody
    • Board to report six schools over irregular UTME registration, extends deadline for public varsities

    The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has said the agency uncovered 15,000 candidates who forged their admission letters to be eligible for the national service organised by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

    The registrar said the board has started the prosecution of the perpetrators for alleged forgery.

    Oloyede spoke yesterday during this year’s Batch C pre-mobilisation workshop organised by NYSC in Abuja.

    The registrar said 17 deputy vice chancellors (DVC), deputy Registrars, including four JAMB’s workers, are in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other related Offences Commission (ICPC) over the alleged forgery.

    He said: “One day, I ran to your predecessor (referring to DG of the NYSC) because I couldn’t believe that 15,000 candidates forged admission letters.

    “As I speak with you, some deputy registrars are being tried by the ICPC. Some deputy vice – chancellors, not less than 17, including four JAMB staff members, are in prison custody. We took them to the ICPC. Those who want to go to jail should do so knowingly, not by accident.

    “I want to advice you: follow the rules and you will have less problems. I suggest you follow the right path and you will see that most of the problems that are self-created by you will be eliminated.”

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    The NYSC’s Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, urged stakeholders not to allow the mobilisation process to suffer disrepute.

    The DG said the organisation continued to experience cases of forged credentials, multiple registrations, and identity theft by unqualified individuals attempting to infiltrate its system.

    According to him, this is a direct threat to the credibility of the mobilisation process of the NYSC.

    He said: “We all know that mobilising eligible Nigerian graduates for national service remains central to the NYSC’s mandate. As a matter of fact, mobilisation is the gateway to the service year and a vital link in preparing young Nigerian graduates for national integration and development. This key aspect of our operations can, therefore, not be allowed to suffer disrepute”

    “Over the years, the NYSC has earned public confidence for its transparent mobilisation process. We were able to do this in the analogue era and managed to transition that confidence to the digital era. For about 11 years now, we have continued to build digital databank, and our mobilisation process is today almost fully digitised.”

    NYSC’s Director of Corps Mobilisation, Rachel Idaewor, noted that the scheme had recorded remarkable progress in its mobilisation efforts in recent years, largely due to innovative approaches and enhanced cooperation.

    “Nevertheless, significant challenges remain, particularly concerning data integrity. The fraudulent uploading of unqualified persons continues to affect the credibility of our mobilisation process negatively,” she said.

    She urged participants at the workshop to address contemporary issues affecting the mobilisation process.

    Idaewor added: “The integrity of our data is not just a technical challenge; it has far-reaching implications for the personal and professional futures of our youth. Accurate, reliable data forms the backbone of any successful operational strategy, enabling us to effectively mobilise our youth for national service.”

    Also, the JAMB has extended this year’s admission deadline for public universities from October 31 to November 17.

    The extension, announced by JAMB in its weekly bulletin, was in response to emerging circumstances affecting the ongoing admissions process in several institutions.

    According to the bulletin shared by JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, the decision was reached after appeals from university administrators and new accreditation developments that required additional time for implementation.

    The board added that there would be no further extension of the new date.

    The statement said: “Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU) has specially appealed for an extension due to the disruption caused by a number of factors, including a court order directing that the status quo should remain on the 2025/2026 admission list, which was only lifted by the same court on October 28, 2025.”

    The board recalled that the 2025 Policy Meeting on Admissions, held on July 18 and chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, had originally set October 31 as the deadline for all public universities to conclude admissions for the 2025/2026 academic session.

    JAMB also cited the recent accreditation of new academic programmes as a major reason for the shift in date.

    “In a bid to expand access in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the NUC on October 29, released a list of 229 programmes recently accredited for 37 universities. Admission into those programmes is just being scheduled,” the statement added.

    The board hailed the diligence and cooperation of public universities in meeting the earlier target, stressing that the extension was to ensure fairness and inclusivity across institutions.

    “This extension is to ensure that no institution or candidate is unfairly disadvantaged. It is the final adjustment, and all institutions must conclude their processes within the new timeframe,” JAMB stated.

    Also, JAMB said it would report six secondary schools to the Federal Ministry of Education for their involvement in irregular registration activities during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) registration exercise.

    The affected schools include Federal Government Girls College, Onitsha; St. Maria Goretti Girls Secondary School, Nkwerre-Orlu; Finek Group of Schools, Aba; Susu College, Nkpor; Nnamdi Azikiwe University Secondary School, Awka; and Deeper Life High School, Onitsha.

    The board said the schools were involved in “mass registration” of candidates, an act it described as a serious breach of its operational rules.

    It reiterated that UTME registration must be done individually at accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres to ensure data integrity. JAMB warned that candidates from schools found guilty of such practices would be barred from the 2026 UTME

    “Candidates are, therefore, strongly advised to ensure that they register individually and personally at any of the board’s accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.

    “This is to guarantee the integrity of their data and to ensure that their personal information is accurately captured in the board’s database.

    “The board remains unwavering in its commitment to maintaining the credibility, transparency, and integrity of its examination processes and will continue to take decisive action against any institution or individual found undermining these standards,” JAMB explained.

    Also, JAMB has advised candidates seeking admission to disregard any invitation or request to change programmes made through institutional portals or unofficial channels.

    The board gave the advice in a statement by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin yesterday in Abuja.

    JAMB alleged that some institutions were using their internal portals to persuade or pressure qualified candidates, particularly those ranked highly on the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), to change from their preferred programmes to less-subscribed ones.

    “This unethical practice is designed to create room for the institutions’ preferred candidates to move up in the admission ranking order, a clear manipulation of the merit-based process established to ensure transparency and fairness,” the statement said.

    It added: “The board wishes to remind all candidates and institutions that all admission processes in Nigeria are conducted exclusively through CAPS, the platform created to ensure accountability, transparency, and equal opportunity in admission placements. Any change of programme or admission activity carried out outside the JAMB CAPS is unauthorised, unethical, and ultimately detrimental to the affected candidates.

    “For institutions to engage in such backdoor maneuvers clearly indicates an intent to deceive and shortchange candidates, and such acts will not be condoned by the board. 

    “Consequently, candidates are strongly advised to disregard any invitation or request to change programmes made through institutional portals or unofficial channels.

    “Furthermore, the Board warns that any change of programme eventually effected on CAPS after a candidate has been influenced or persuaded by an institution through its own portal will be deemed voluntary on the part of the candidate. In such instances, JAMB will not be held responsible for the consequences of that decision.

    “Preliminary investigations have revealed that a university in the South-West and another in Abuja have been involved in this practice. The Board has initiated appropriate regulatory steps to address these unethical acts and to ensure that candidates’ interests are fully protected.

    “Candidates are therefore urged to remain vigilant and conduct all admission-related activities strictly through the JAMB CAPS portal. The Board reaffirms its unwavering commitment to ensuring that all qualified candidates are treated with fairness, equity, and transparency in the 2025 admission exercise and beyond.”

  • Oloyede: Beyond the glitch

    Oloyede: Beyond the glitch

    In His almost nine years as registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Is-haq Oloyede, has scored many firsts. He has discharged and is still discharging his duty diligently. He has done what his predecessors could not do, leaving the public in awe of his feats.

    His record speaks for itself. A record of diligence, truth, excellence, passion, industry, timely delivery on tasks, fairness, equity and justice. For all these attributes to be found in one man is rare, but Oloyede has them and more in abundance. Regrettably, it is this same record which earns public officers plaudits in other places, that is now threatening his own work.

    He is in this bind because of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which was written between April 24 and May 5. The results were woeful. This is not new. That has been the pattern for years now. As usual, nobody paid any attention despite JAMB’s regular release of the statistics of performance at the end of the examination each year.

    Who takes responsibility when a student does not do well in an examination, where the examining body is not found wanting? To me, it should be the parents/guardians, teachers and the candidates – in equal measures. The parents for not paying close attention to what their children/wards are doing; the teachers for not monitoring the pupils well and the candidates for not taking their studies seriously.

    Also, what did we do as concerned citizens every year that JAMB sounded the alarm of a fall in education standard after releasing the results? We turned deaf ears. To us, the government must take responsibility for the fall in education standard without the citizenry playing its part.

    We forget that no good parent toys with the education of his child. As I tell my friends, the home is a child’s first school, not the four walls of a classroom or the church. As parents, many of us love to blame others for our failure. This is precisely what we are doing in this instant case. We believe that JAMB must take the fall for the mass failure in the 2025 UTME. Nothing will make many of us happy than to see the back of Oloyede in office.

    It is not all about Oloyede. Yes, he is the head of JAMB and must take responsibility for everything done under his watch. We forget that Oloyede is also human and cannot solely discharge the enormous duty of his office. He has others working with him to ensure the smooth running of JAMB, especially its main task of conducting the UTME. The row over the 2025 exercise broke out not only because of the mass failure, but the technical issues that many candidates in the LAG/Southeast regions encountered.

    Read Also: Oyetola rallies France for Nigeria’s IMO bid

    These issues did not crop up in other centres and that says a lot about JAMB’s efficiency. Still, we have to tell ourselves the truth. It is not good enough that there were technical glitches during the examination. I also agree that JAMB should have ensured that everything was in shape before conducting the exam.

    I believe that the mock exam it conducts prior to the main UTME is to test run its system and ensure an hitchfree exercise. But as they say, “things do happen”. I am not holding brief for Oloyede, but I know him to be a thorough person with eyes for details in everything he does. Again, things will go wrong when they are bound to go wrong. This unforeseen factor undid all JAMB’s plans for the 2025 UTME.

    Calling for Oloyede’s head is not the answer. His good work of almost nine years at JAMB should not be undone by this unfortunate incident. His track record speaks for itself. He had no control over what happened, but he has taken responsibility for it. If the situation can be reversed, Oloyede will go beyond the call of duty to ensure a seamless UTME. What has happened has happened. As a way out, the 397,997 affected candidates have resat the exam and their results were released yesterday.

    Oloyede will be turning nine in office in August, meaning he has 14 months left to complete his two-term of 10 years. He completed the first term of five years in 2021 and was reappointed by President Buhari. He cannot afford to, on the eve of the completion of his tenure, allow anything like this incident,  mar his reputation.

    There cannot be any person more pained by the incident than him. It was obvious that he took what happened as a challenge on his integrity when he addressed the media on May 14 in Abuja. In tears, he tendered an unreserved apology to the nation, pleading for the understanding of the candidates, their parents, and schools. Oloyede is not a run-of-the-mill administrator and academic. When it comes to tertiary education and administration, he is no push over.

    So, it would have taken every fibre of his being for him to publicly admit that JAMB’s efforts at conducting a hitchfree 2025 UTME were thwarted by “human and technology errors”. He noted: “ what should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors… While this was not a case of sabotage, the oversight by one of our two service providers is inexcusable. I apologise. I take full responsibility “.

    The hitches, Oloyede explained, were later traced to a failure in the deployment of updated grading software by the service provider’s officials. His lofty years in JAMB should not be measured by this incident. He has done and is still doing more than enough to uplift the board. It is heartbreaking enough that the incident happened under him and if there is anything that can be done to rectify it, Oloyede will be more than ready to do it. This is why he quickly organised another exam for those affected. This is the kind of person he is.

    He has shown capacity in the discharge of his responsibility. What is more. Oloyede has shown that we still have forthright persons that can hold public office without being influenced by filthy lucre. Rather than persecute him, it is for us as a nation to address the rot in our education system for better results in future UTMEs. For now, the statistics are not cheery.

    They are scary. In 2016, 1.59m candidates (64.24%) scored below 200 out of 400; 2017, 1.72m (73%); 2018, 1.19m (77%); 2019, 1.40m (77%), 2020, 1.54m (79.2%); 2021, 1.14m (87.2%); 2022, 1.33m (77.8%); 2023, 1.17m (76.7%); 2024, 1.40m (76.1%) and 2025, 1.5m (78.5%). The 2025 result is the third worst since 2016.

    The first and second worst results were recorded in 2021 and 2020, and interestingly there were no technical glitches then. So, to what do we blame that, if not failure of parenting, teaching and candidates’ indiscipline? This is not to exonerate JAMB for the lapses that marred the 2025 UTME, though. We should, therefore, direct our energies to treating the disease and not the symptoms.  

  • Oloyede as an exemplar of leadership

    Oloyede as an exemplar of leadership

    By Kunle Akogun

    What do Nigerians really want? Are we really serious about our oft-repeated yearning for an ideal leader comparable to those in ‘saner climes,’ as professional critics often regale us with?

    Which particular leader can ever satisfy Nigerians: the abrasive? the candid? sincere? whimsical? the unabashedly corrupt? audacious? Apparently and quite unfortunately, none of these! For, like the characters in Ebenezer Obey’s classic song, ‘The Man and the Horse,’ Nigerians are difficult, if not impossible to satisfy.

    In one breath, we yearn for an ideal ‘saner-clime’ type of leader who is full of integrity and with the interest of the people at heart. In another breath, we scoff at any leader whose disposition is closer to that ideal construct of leadership trait just because he does not belong to our clan or creed.

    This scenario would appear to have played out last week when a Nigerian public official did the unthinkable by owning up to a fault he did not commit directly and sought forgiveness of Nigerians, especially those directly affected. That was the Oloyede story.

    In a rare display of sincere leadership and genuine compassion for the welfare of the people he serves, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Emeritus Prof. Is’haq Olanrewaju Oloyede (CON), on May 14, 2025, publicly apologised for the glitches that marred the just concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

    Not only did he take full responsibility for the computer errors that led to failures in the examination in Lagos and some Southeastern states, he also offered a second chance to the affected candidates, about 379,997 of them, to retake the examination.

    Whereas a typical Nigerian leader would blame everybody else but himself for any anomaly, Oloyede, knowing full well that as a servant- leader, the buck stops on his table, took responsibility for everything that went wrong. He said: “As Registrar of JAMB, I hold myself personally responsible, including for the negligence of the Service Provider, and I unreservedly apologise for it and the trauma that it has subjected affected Nigerians to, directly and indirectly.” He wouldn’t even blame the contractor (Service Provider) who had pocketed huge sums of money for the critical job he was supposed to have provided seamlessly!

    This is quite unusual, but very laudable, especially in a country where leaders are fond of giving excuses to rationalise their failure to deliver on assigned mandates. Indeed, like the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole (SAN) said, while reacting to the unusual openness displayed by Oloyede in the handling of the matter, “only a conscientious, sincere, and courageous leader with genuine compassion for the welfare of the people he serves could openly accept responsibility for an incident surrounding the service delivery of an organisation he heads but which glitch was not due to his personal negligence.”

    Expectedly, this unprecedented sincerity, by Nigerian leadership standard, was massively commended all over the country by prominent individuals, national and international organisations, as a rarity in Nigeria’s socio-political milieu.

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    This is not surprising, anyway, as the iconic figure has always proven to be a rare-breed Nigerian. As I wrote in the introduction to my humble contribution to a Festschrift in honour of Oloyede on his retirement from the University of Ilorin in 2024, “he is a public official who is apparently immune to the general malaise bedevilling the nation’s socio- economic milieu. His entire public service record radiates transparency, accountability, single-minded commitment to service excellence, administrative acumen, dogged commitment to the achievement of set goals, undiluted integrity in public service, effortless exhibition of leadership by example and unapologetic insistence on fairness to all!”

    I added in that piece, titled ‘OLOYEDE: Portrait of a Rare Breed Public Servant’, “This audacious public servant became a household name nationwide during his tenure as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, having largely succeeded in turning the second-generation University to a world class institution. This, he achieved by dint of hard work, resilience, consistency, tenacity of purpose, innovative ideas, and unparalleled team spirit.

     “As Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Oloyede left no stone unturned in his relentless pursuit of academic excellence through which he ensured that admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria is transparent and credible. Apart from ensuring and sustaining the unassailable integrity of the tertiary institutions’ admission process, another remarkable feat of JAMB under Professor Oloyede’s watch is the yearly remittance of huge funds, running into billions of naira,

    to the Federal Government’s coffers. This is quite unprecedented by any non-revenue yielding MDA in the country. The money, according to the Board’s spokesman, Dr Fabian Benjamin, was saved through the transparent and judicious use of resources. This is indeed praise-worthy, especially in a country where even some MDAs that were specifically and statutorily established to collect revenue for the government often go back to the government to ask for extra-budgetary bail-outs to augment their overhead costs. Those who do not receive such bail-outs often remit pittance to the national treasury at the end of the financial year.”

    However, even though Prof. Oloyede’s genuine acceptance of blame and sincere apology in the UTME saga drew massive applause from well-meaning Nigerians and non-Nigerians, the reactions of some professional critics and a coterie of unapologetic habitual haters of this new-breed Nigerian public official have left a lot to be desired.

    One of these reactions was the rejection of JAMB’s decision to conduct a fresh examination for candidates affected by the system error by a group that went ahead to make a laughable demand that rather than scheduling a ‘re-sit’ of the UTME, JAMB should just “award 300 marks to all affected candidates from the South East”! What a demand! Why must we politicise everything in this country, including subjecting the future of our innocent children to the needless game of political mischief?

    Another weird reaction to JAMB’s public apology was the unconscionable call for the resignation of Oloyede and outright scrapping of JAMB. In all honesty, these two demands are a disservice to this nation at a time when the JAMB Registrar has become the poster boy of service excellence and when JAMB itself has become a reference point for public service integrity.

    To me, and I think to many Nigerians, if we are truly serious about making the country work, we should actively encourage people like Prof. Oloyede, and they are very rare to come by in this clime, to take up higher national responsibilities. There are so many areas of the nation’s socio-economic sector that need the type of the well-known Oloyede-Midas touch. Rather than vilifying him for technology glitch resulting from the negligence of a careless Service Provider, Oloyede’s service could be sought to sanitise some crucial national agencies that are very critical to the socio-economic development of Nigeria and the general well-being of its citizens.

    •Akogun is the Director, Corporate Affairs, University of Ilorin

  • JAMB to use NIN for 2020 UTME registration

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has said it would use the National Identity Number issued by the National Identity Management Commission for the conduct of 2020 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

    JAMB Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, stated this when the Director of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, Mr Dasuki Arabi, visited him at the headquarters of the board in Abuja.

    He said the introduction of the NIN to UTME was in line with the directive of the Federal Government that NIMC should be the primary data collection centre.

    He noted that the NIN would guard against all forms of registration infractions.

    The registrar, in a statement by the agency’s Head of Information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin on Sunday in Abuja, said the board has concluded arrangements with the NIMC to use NIN number as a pilot for 2020 UTME.

    Oloyede said the board would use both the NIN number and its Computer Based Test Centres for the 2020 UTME registration.

    Read Also: JAMB cancels UTME result of another candidate

    Oloyede said: “In view of the compliance with the Federal Government’s directive that the NIMC should be the primary data collection centre, the board will be using the NIM number of prospective candidates for registration in the next exercise. The board is at the moment discussing with the NIMC to work out the grey areas for seamless implementation in the next exercise.”

    The BPSR DG, Arabi, urged JAMB to take advantage of the Self-Assessment Tool developed by the bureau to strengthen its capacity and render quality service to the public.

    He said: “The SAT facility enables organisations to assess themselves in terms of what they have done or not done. By so doing, gaps can be identified and solutions proffered in real time. The President has directed agencies to work together so as to improve the quality of services that are offered.

    “We are coming to work with JAMB and the NIMC to support and encourage them to migrate to the nation’s data ecosystem just the way the Nigerian Immigration Service has done.”

  • JAMB registrar seeks embargo on establishment of new universities

    The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede has called on the Federal Government to place embargo on the establishment of new universities.

    Prof Oloyede said this during the 4tth convocation lecture of Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa state at the weekend.

    The registrar, in the board’s Weekly Bulletin released by JAMB’s Head of Information, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, said efforts should be geared towards developing existing ones in the country.

    According to him, universities should not be established just to boost the ego of rich individuals and politicians.

    Read Also: JAMB releases more 15,490 UTME results

    He said: “A situation where universities are only established to massage the ego of rich individuals and politicians is not healthy for educational development of the country as tertiary education is too crucial to be reduced to a commercial outfit for an ego-tripping venture.

     “Since education is everybody’s business, all Nigerians should support the effort towards educational development.

    Oloyede who took a critical look at the recommendations of the 2017 Presidential Retreat on Education which recommended a declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector, advocated increased funding of education in the country by committing nothing less than 15% of the national budget to the sector.

  • JAMB releases 2019 UTME results of 1.7million candidates, withholds 34,120

    The 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results were finally released on Saturday by The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    The results of 1, 792, 719 candidates were released while the board withheld the results of 34,120 candidates including the results of 15,145 candidates it clarified as “identical twins and siblings.”

    JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, in a sixteen page address titled: “Doing things right and doing right things,” broke the news to reporters yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    Prof. Oloyede said 1, 826, 839 candidates sat for the UTME of the 1,886,508 candidates that registered for the examination which was conducted in 698 computer based test (CBT) centres nationwide from April 11 – 18.

    He said: “Today, we are releasing the results of 1,792,719 candidates. Some 34,120 results are being withheld including the results of 15,145 candidates being further clarified as identical twins and siblings.

    “We released the 2017 and 2018 UTME results almost within 24 hours of each session to convince the doubting Thomases that the expeditious release of CBT results was not beyond our capacity.

    “At the release of the 2018 results, we publicly announced that the results of 2019 UTME would not be released until we subject the procedure to some scrutiny with a view to ascertaining the degree of success of the structures, infrastructure, policies and processes put in place to checkmate the not very few among us who believe in the pervasively illegitimate means of achieving set ambitions and goals. These are the elements that are proudly committed to the system of rot.

    “Being a global menace, every serious country is confronting examination malpractice frontally in order to safeguard the integrity of the system.

    “We need the cooperation of all Nigerians to sanitize the system and ensure that not only do we do thing right, we also do right things. There are sufficient illustrations of the globalisation of the menace in the public domain. The good news is that all right-thinking people appreciate the danger inherent in examination malpractice and are all committed to its elimination.”

    Read Also: UTME results ‘ll be released today – JAMB Registrar

    He advised candidates to check their results through the phone numbers they used for registration.

    “Candidates are advised to use the phone numbers they used to register to text RESULT to 55019.

    “For the first three days or between now and Monday, the only means of checking the results of candidates would be through the Short Code (55019). This is to ensure that fraudsters who would want to exploit candidates by reproducing messages and sending such messages to them are frustrated. It is also to prevent those whose results are withheld from wasting their money at cyber cafes or creating unnecessary crowd at CBT centres.

    “There is no need to approach any CBT Centre or cyber café to check results. Those who were ABSENT, got their Registration CANCELLED or have their results WITHHELD will be told.

    “The board has decided to send both photo and biometric details of candidates to Institutions. We have also put bar codes on the result slips that candidates will be printing. The essence of this is that once a candidate approaches an institution for Post-UTME screening, the institution will use the bar code scanner to authenticate the candidate. However, if a candidate brings a manipulated slip as the case may be at times, the Institution can type in the registration number to ensure that it is not a fake slip that is presented.

    “Candidates who presently enjoy undue favour of benefit of the doubt will then be exposed and more results can then be cancelled for post examination fraud- attempt,” he said.

    The registrar said this year’s examination was infiltrated by overzealous parents and professional examination fraudsters who engaged in impersonation in connivance with operators of CBT centres.

    He said the results of this year’s exercise would have been compromised if not for the resistance of the system the board put in place, the integrity of its staff and some noble Nigerians who assisted the board during the process.

    According to him, the examination was characterized by multiple registration, impersonation and manipulation of biometrics.

    Others are collusion of some private CBT centre owners with parents, syndicates of some closed centers, deliberate disruption of the examination process and extortion of candidates.

    He said manipulation of biometrics and impersonation were discovered in Anambra, Bauchi, Delta, Borno, Imo and other states.

    Prof. Oloyede said a staff of the board was paid N1,760, 000.00 in two centres in Akokwe in Ideato Local Government Area, Imo state to compromise the examination.

    The registrar said the staff is under investigation along others who were provided free accommodation by owners of CBT centers during the examination.

    The registrar also said the board has de-listed or suspended 116 centres for various infractions during the examination.

    “A total of 116 Centres have been delisted or suspended. Out of this number, 18 have been sanctioned by the Governing Board of JAMB with suspension for between one and three year for registration related misconduct,” he said.

  • 2019 UTME: Nigerians will be shocked by outcome of our probe – JAMB

    Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, on Friday said the outcome of its probe into examination fraud between 2009- 2019 would shock many Nigerians.

    He said the board has discovered that some prominent Nigerians occupying high positions in the society today did not take its examination themselves.

    Oloyede said although the board may not be able to punish these persons because they had already left the system, but it would go ahead to publish their names to shame them.

    The JAMB Registrar spoke at the 23rd annual seminar of the Nigerian Academy of Education under the topic, “Admissions into tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria.”

    He also said the board has hired a Senior Advocate of Nigeria to prosecute over 100 persons caught in various malpractices during the UTME which held between April 11 and 18, and who were arrested by security operatives across the country.

    The registrar did not name the SAN leading the prosecution of UTME candidates and professional examination fraudsters.

    He also did not state the day the 2019 UTME results would be released.

    Oloyede said the board was amused by insinuation that it’s sever had crashed.

    Such comments, he said, were amusing to members of the board.

    The registrar said: “If I were to be punishing every staff of JAMB that is committing infractions, I will not focus on the assignment.

    “I will be going from one disciplinary committee to the other and my attention will be diverted.

    “And that is why I go for the shortest route; once you are caught to have committed one infraction, you will not be assigned with examination duties again.

    Read Also: Why we’ve not released UTME results, by JAMB

    “It is a privilege, which I can withdraw. If you are that bad that I don’t want to see your face around me, I will transfer you to another place.

    “If we have to take disciplinary action against all of them; look at it, today we have 100 people not less than 100 in police cells across the country who were caught for examination malpractices.

    “I have appointed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who is a former Solicitor-General to help me oversee all these so that the suspects can be brought to book.

    “And my Director of Legal asked me, what offences should we charge these people for; for multiple registrations? And I said why can’t we go to the Examination Malpractice Act?

    “So, my problem has started by having to draft the charges, despite the fact that we have evidences against them. That is the beginning of the problem.

    “I will now ask to be paying my staff to travel out of Abuja to be testifying in court as they are adjourning month after month the cases and we will be wasting money and time on transport.

    “So even now, what we have seen, I tell people that I am more tolerant of corruption in JAMB than when I was as a vice-chancellor at the University of Ilorin.”

    He added that the board has de-listed no fewer than 76 Computer-Based Test Centres for various infractions in the recently concluded unified tertiary matriculation examination.

  • JAMB conducts UTME for 200 foreign candidates

    Over 200 candidates at the weekend sat for a foreign-based unified tertiary matriculation examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    The foreign-based examination was conducted for Nigerians abroad and citizens of other nationalities who want to study in Nigeria.

    The examination was conducted in Ghana, United Kingdom, Cameroon, Benin Republic, Cöte d’Ivoire, South Africa and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    The board said the UTME was conducted to give equal opportunity to Nigerians in Diaspora and foreigners who are desirous of acquiring qualitative tertiary education in Nigeria.

    These were disclosed in the board’s weekly bulletin released to the media by its Head of Information, Dr Fabian Benjamin, on Sunday, in Abuja.

    Benjamin said candidates who wrote the examination hailed the board for the various innovations the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has introduced since he took over the agency.

    The bulletin reads: “The exercise which was administered hitch free was a testimony to the commitment and capacity of the board to render quality service to the nation whenever the need arises.

    Read Also: UTME results: JAMB warns candidates against fraudsters

    “Over 200 candidates took the UTME examination that held simultaneously on Saturday, 27th April, 2019 in all the aforementioned centres.

    “We are not just conducting the examination in these countries on account of the candidates alone which was, at any rate, negligible but because we also want to showcase Nigeria’s giant strides in technological advancement on the global scene.”

    Also on Sunday, JAMB warned candidates to disregard messages or calls from anybody claiming to have access to its classified information.

    “The board wishes to state emphatically that the results of the 2019 UTME have not been released,” it said in a statement.

    It urged the public, particularly parents and candidates, to be wary of dubious elements and disregard any overtures made by anybody touting their power or influence to inflate any candidate’s score.

    “The board wishes to state emphatically that the results of the 2019 UTME have not been released.

    “The board will make the (results) public when they are ready. Security operatives have picked up some of these nefarious characters and they are on the trail of others still at large,” it added.

     

  • JAMB registrar knocks private varsities for aiding corruption

    Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede has lambasted some private universities in the country for aiding academic corruption and decadence.

    He accused some private university operators for going against many laws guiding university operations in the country.

    Oloyede spoke in Abuja on Monday at the opening ceremony of a two-day summit on Nigerian private universities with the theme: “Private University Education Delivery in Nigeria; challenges and opportunities” organised by the National Universities Commission.

    He explained that the purpose of opening up the university space by the Federal Government to private operators seems to be defeated because of some of the sharp practices operators of private universities undertake.

    He said: “Government opened up the space few years ago for private operators to come complement government effort in providing university education to Nigerians, but it seems like the aim is gradually being defeated.

    “When you visit some private universities, you will be ashamed for Nigeria. From the structures, you will know that something is wrong.

    Read Also: System failure disrupts JAMB UTME in Kaduna

    “If you take a deeper look, you will discover more decadence and rot in their operations. Some of the proprietors choose to run the universities like a family business and it ought not to be so.”

    The JAMB registrar explained that only Vice Chancellors are recognised by law as being in charge of day-to-day running of the university.

    According to him, every other person with ceremonial titles plays supportive roles.

    “If I were to be university proprietor, I will prefer to take the position of Chairman of the Council because of the control power attached to that office,” he added.

    NUC’s Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, said the commission was currently processing about 303 new applications for the establishment of new private universities.

    He said 208 out of the 303 applications are on step three in the processing of their applications, while 63 applicants representing 20.79 percent of the total applicants, were on step six having only submitted their completed application forms and strategic documents and are waiting first verification visit.

    He added that 30 applicants, representing 9.9 percent were on step eight and have had first verification visit conducted to their proposed university campuses.

    The Minister of education, Malam Adamu Adamu, said the running of a private university was a serious business which required greater discipline.

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Sonny Echono, the minister urged private universities to address the major challenges militating against their operation, which he identified as staffing, poor or non-implementation of university governance arrangement, excessive proprietor influence, inadequate funding among others.

  • JAMB: We have de-registered 14 CBT centres

    Registrar Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, on Monday said the board has de-listed 14 Computer Based Test centres out of the 712 accredited for the conduct of unified tertiary examination because they committed infractions during the conduct of its mock examination on Monday.

    Some of the infractions cited by the board included deceit and borrowing computer systems without informing the board.

    The registrar said that the 698 centres left in operation were ready for the conduct of the UTME scheduled to begin on April 11.

    Prof. Oloyede disclosed this during the monitoring of this year’s mock examination with the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, in some CBT centres in Abuja.

    He said: “So far, so good; all the centres are doing very well. Of the 712, we have had to dis-accredit 14 this morning for one infraction or the other

    “Some had technical problems and some due to deceit whereby some of them will go and borrow some computers, thinking that we will not know.

    “Those centres we discovered went ahead to borrow computer systems for the exams have been dis-accredited.

    “Now, we have about 698 centres left in the operation, but we have distributed the students across board.”

    Oloyede, also revealed that two JAMB officials were attacked during the mock exercise which took place on Monday in some select CBT centres nationwide.

    The registrar said the attack took place at a centre in the Lagos State Polytechnic.

    He said the two officials would also have been set ablaze but for the quick intervention of the security agencies which saved them from the attempted jungle justice.

    He said the reason for the dastardly attack was yet to be ascertained, even as the two officials have been taken to the hospital after they were rescued.

    The registrar said the board has launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the attempted murder of its officials on legitimate duty.

    The registrar said: “The very first sad thing that we noticed was that two of our staff were almost murdered in Lagos.

    “There was an attempt on their lives at the Lagos State Polytechnic. For whatever reason, they were wet with petrol and they were to be set ablaze.

    “We have sent a rescue team and they took them to the hospital. We are still looking into what happened, but we have evacuated our staff from the place.

    “We hope that whoever attempted that, the law enforcement agencies will not allow such an assault on innocent officials of government who went about their normal business.”

    The minister, at the end of the monitoring, expressed confidence in the successful conduct of the examination on April 11.

    He appealed to centres bent on perpetrating infractions to desist from such act.

    The minister said: “Everything is going on fine. The assessment of the exam is that everything is in order and from the report I am receiving from all over the country, everything is fine.

    “I will advise those centres perpetrating some kind of malpractices to stop and adhere to whatever guidelines they have been given by JAMB; otherwise, the same fate will befall them.

    “From what I have seen today, JAMB is ready for the examinations.”

    157,000 candidates who indicated interest for the mock examination at the point of registration, sat for the preparatory examination nationwide.