Hit or Miss?: JAMB Results Valid for 3 Years Senate Wants

The Senate decision wa‎s in reaction to a motion sponsored by Senator Joshua Lidani representing Gombe South during their plenary section yesterday, he informed the lawmakers of frustrations being encountered by JAMB candidates in their search for admissions into tertiary institutions.

Sen. Lidani expressed concerns over a recent policy, which empowers JAMB to reassign applicants for Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in universities with excessive number of candidates to universities with lower number of applicants.

The Senate on Tuesday summoned the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, to give explanations about the difficulties surrounding admissions into the nation’s universities. He listed benefits of the policy to include enabling universities with lower number of applicants to have enough candidates for admission and simultaneously providing applicants with better chances of securing admissions.

After exhaustive debate, ‎the Committee on Education was mandated to review the power of JAMB on issues revolving around admission issues.

The lawmakers also asked JAMB to consult widely with Parents Teachers Associations, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other stakeholders in the education sector with a view to coming out with a friendly, holistic, comprehensive and sustainable admissions policy.

The upper Legislative Chamber also asked JAMB to extend the validity of candidates’ admissions into tertiary institutions from 12 months to 36 months to ease the pressure faced by parents who cannot easily raise funds to send their children to school.

What is your take on this subject? What of those who did not reach the pass mark? They get to sit at home for 3 years before resitting?