The House of Representatives has called on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to extend the validity period of its results for at least three years.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion on the ‘Need for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board Examination Result to be valid for three years’, moved at the plenary on Wednesday by Hon. Rotimi Akintunde.
Moving the motion, he said JAMB is a Nigerian tertiary education admissions test body, adding that the board administers the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, which is required for admission into Nigerian higher institutions of learning;
He said: “On February 13, 1978, the Federal Military Government published decree No. 2 of 1978, which established the Board, the Federal Executive Council Revised Decree No.2 of 1978 by August 1988, the revisions was later formalised in Decree No. 33 of 1989, which came into force on December 1, 1989.”
The lawmaker noted that JAMB was authorised by Decree No.2 of 1978 (as amended by Decree No. 33 of 1989) to: hold a matriculation test for admission to all Nigerian Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education; appoint Examiners, Moderators, Invigilators, members of Subject Panels and committees, and other individuals in connection with matriculation examinations and any other things ancillary thereto; and put adequately competent applicants in tertiary institutions after considering: (i) the vacancies available in each tertiary institution; among other things.
He explained that while JAMB conducts an examination every year for intending undergraduates at a fee paid by the parent or by the candidates themselves and the results only valid for a year; the West African Examination Council (WAEC), and National Examination Council (NECO) examinations results which are a precursor to JAMB tests are valid indefinitely.
The lawmaker expressed concern that the JAMB examination result is valid for only one year, adding that if candidates cannot secure admission into any tertiary institution of their choice in the academic year the exam was taken, the result no matter how good becomes useless;
Akintunde said despite the incessant strikes embarked upon by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which led to the loss of a complete academic calendar, JAMB still went ahead to administer its examination without recourse to the vailing industrial action by ASUU.
The lawmaker expressed worry about the backlog of candidates waiting for admission into the limited vacancies in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions and its attendant pressure on the education system and parents; and the double jeopardy suffered by parents who are forced to enroll their wards yearly for the examination.
The House urged, “The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to rethink and allow its result to be valid for at least three years and conduct the entry exams at least twice annually.”
The House also urged the Minister of Education to put mechanisms in place to ensure that the resolutions are executed.