Admission racketeering: Senate summons Education Minister, JAMB Registrar, VC

Senate has summoned the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, the Registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede and the Vice Chancellor, University of Nigeria, UNN, Nsukka, Prof. Charles Igwe over alleged admissions racketeering.

They are to appear before the Senate Committees on Ethics, Public Petitions and Privileges, and Tertiary Education and TETFUND for explanations on alleged undisclosed admissions and unwholesome practices by the JAMB, UNN and other universities.

The Senate resolutions were sequel to a motion sponsored to that effect by its Deputy Whip, Senator Peter Nwebonyi (APC Ebonyi North) during plenary on Wednesday.

Senator Nwebonyi, while presenting the motion, alleged that some JAMB officials in collaboration with Admission officers in the universities are neck deep into unwholesome practice of shortchanging some students in the admission process.

The alleged unwholesome practices, he said are mostly carried out on students seeking for professional courses like Medicine and Surgery, Pharmacy, Law, Engineering, Nursing Science, etc.

The lawmaker specifically cited the case of one Miss Chinyere Ekwe and 290 others who were admitted to study Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nigeria Nsukka but had their admissions truncated on the order of JAMB for No plausible reason, after they had completed the admission processes and resumed lectures.

He said: “Miss Ekwe, in particular, scored 291 in the 2019 UTME and 300 in the university’s post UTME, which qualified her for the course and was subsequently admitted by the university but later transferred to the Department of Medical Laboratory Science on the ground that if her cumulative grade point is up to 4.5 points after the first year, she would be transferred back to Medicine and Surgery.

“However, despite the fact that she surpassed the 4.5 threshold, her admission status is still not yet certain as to whether she is duly admitted in the Department of Medicine and Surgery or Medical Laboratory Science.”

Senators Nwebonyi lamented that the provisional admission practice is being used as a malicious tool to exploit and frustrate intelligent young Nigerians who are children and wards of ordinary people who seek admission into Nigerian universities.

“Such unwholesome practices put our educational system in jeopardy, cause apathy on the side of ordinary Nigerians, and also dampen the renewed hope this government stands for,” he stressed.

However, the the prayers sought by the Senator to compel JAMB to give Medicine and Surgery admission to Miss Chinyere Ekwe without further delay was not adopted by the Senate on the ground of weighty allegations raised which required thorough investigation.