From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Barring any unforseen development, all admissions in the nation’s tertiary institutions, public and private, for the 2020/2021 academic session is expected to end by 15th June, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said on Sunday.
While public universities are expected to finish their admissions on or before 15th May, private universities and all IEIs, polytechnics and Colleges of Education are to complete theirs at the agreed date of 15th June.
JAMB said the plan was for public universities to end admissions four weeks ahead of private universities, the Polytechnic, Colleges of Education and IEIs.
Its spokesman, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, in a statement, confirmed that the unanimous decision was taken at a virtual meeting with Heads of Tertiary Institutions.
He said the aim was to forestall an endless admission regime generated by the series of disruptions to daily life occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the meeting with the stakeholders would enable JAMB to put necessary machinery in place for the 2021/2022 UTME/DE registration exercise.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, in the statement, disclosed that only 30 per cent of institutions had started admissions into the 2020/2021 academic session, stressing the need for collective decision on when to close the 2020/2021 admission exercise, to pave the way for the commencement of the 2021/2022 UTME/DE registration exercise.
He reiterated that the chosen deadlines remained sacrosanct and binding on all institutions as the Board would not tolerate any breach of the collective decision reached at the meeting.
He said the Board will soon announce commencement date for the sale of application documents for the 2021/2022 academic session.
Meanwhile, the Board has urged all institutions to adhere strictly to all advisories on inter/intra-university transfers, foreign inter-university transfers and fresh foreign candidates, change of programmes and institutions and other essential processes related to admissions.
This, they said, was to avoid unnecessary bickerings that could endanger the future of innocent candidates and their subsequent mobilization for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The Registrar disclosed that transfer of candidates within institutions, locally or internationally, is an acceptable process as approved by the Senate or Council of the respective institutions but insisted that due process must be followed.
He pointed out that the Board, as a responsible organisation and gate keeper, would not allow the process to be circumvented to allow unqualified candidates to gain access to our institutions.
He said: “JAMB would not be a party to any improper transfer or breach of set guidelines, adding that adequate measures or checks must be done to verify if such candidates meet minimum requirements or possess the prerequisite qualifications to be in the institution in the first instance.”
