The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has raised an alarm, saying it had uncovered 3,000 fake graduates in possession of illegal certificates across Nigeria.
JAMB Registrar, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, who made this known in a report published in the board’s bulletin, said those involved were discovered to have never set foot within the four walls of a classroom.
Oloyede, during a meeting with the delegation of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State Universities in Nigeria (COPSUN) in his office, at the JAMB’s national headquarters at Bwari, Abuja, also condemned the act of illegal admissions by some institutions.
According to him, illegal admissions have remained a source of embarrassment to the country.
“Some ‘graduates’ had never entered the four walls of a university owing to the endemic corruption in the system but the board had documented over 3,000 of such cases.
“Illegal admission of candidates into tertiary institutions in the country is an embarrassment and a disservice to the nation,” the bulletin read.
Olayede charged COPSUN to ensure that they clamp down on underhand admissions, which is not only detrimental to the system but is also disadvantageous to the image of the country.
The development comes on the heels of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Basic Education, in December 2023, ordering the Board to present a list of tertiary institutions that had conducted irregular and illegal admissions.
The examination body had earlier warned candidates to desist from accepting admissions offered by such institutions without full academic participation.
In the statement titled, “Cessation of illegal/irregular admission,” JAMB reiterated that all applications of admissions to first degree, national diploma, national innovation diploma and the Nigeria certificate in education into full-time, distance learning, part-time, outreach, sandwich, etc, must be processed only through JAMB.”
Last year, JAMB gave tips on how to spot illegal admission.
While speaking during the 3rd matriculation ceremony of the Thomas Adewumi University (TAU) Oko, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oloyede said any admission not captured in its Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) is illegal, null and void.
According to him, “For any admission into tertiary institutions, it has to be done through CAPS which is on the JAMB portal.
“Any admission whatsoever that is outside the CAPS irrespective of the institution is illegal. And I think this point is very important,” said Prof Oloyede who was represented by an Assistant Director of JAMB, Mr. Ganiyu Yahaya, told the 171 matriculants at the programme.
This is as the Board also said any candidate who chooses to get an underhand admission would face the consequences.
The Board reiterated that all tertiary institutions’ admissions must be processed through it.
According to Oloyede’s presentation, the top five universities with the highest number of ‘illegal’ admissions offered within the period are the Universities of Jos, Plateau State with 7,600 cases; Benue State University, Makurdi with 6,161 cases; Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, with 5,669 cases; Kwara State University, Malete with 4,281 cases and Novena University, Delta State with 3,432 cases.
Among the ND certificate awarding institutions, the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, topped the chart with a total of 45,471 cases within three years, and it is closely followed by Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, with 37,828 cases and Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, with 30,856 cases within the same period.
Others are the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Anambra State and the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, Nasarawa State with 24,335 each.
