JAMB: Cmte of Pro-Chancellors of State Varsities Extol Exam Body (ICYMI)

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been described as a symbol of excellence, integrity and good leadership.

This commendation was made by the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State Universities (CPSU) when the association paid a courtesy visit to the National Headquarters of the Board on Monday,
8th March, 2021.

The Chairman, CPSU, Yusuf Ali, SAN, commended the Registrar of the Board, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, for the laudable transformational steps since his assumption of office in 2016.

The legal luminary, in his assessment, said JAMB has carved a niche for itself through several monumental achievements that have made it the cynosure of all eyes and a shining example of excellence, integrity and goodcorporate governance.

The Senior Advocate said the Board has never had it so good since its inception in 1978, noting that it has become the face of accountability, probity and integrity in national discourse owing largely to the efforts of the Reg istra r and his Management team.

The CPSU Chairman expressed satisfaction that JAMB had demonstrated what sincere patriots had all along preached in the management of the nation’s resources noting that the multiplier effects of such probity would eventually trickle down to all aspects of national life.

According to Ali, JAMB, as the only agency charged with the responsibility of placing suitably-qualified candidates into tertiary institutions in conjunction with the various institutions, has delivered on its mandate creditably well in spite of several daunting challenges.

He called on the Board to partner with the committee to address the epileptic academic calendar in the nation’s tertiary institutions. This, according to him, could be achieved through adequate synergy with other regulatory agencies like NUC, NCCE, NBTE to ensure a seamless regulatory framework geared toward having a seamless and functional educational system.

The Chairman also advocated regular training of all institutions' Admission Officers whom, he said, are the middlemen between the Board and the candidates in the processing of admissions.

In addition, he urged the Board to assist the association in its bid to boost the revenue base of State Universities, through the hosting of third-party examinations in CBT centres owned by these institutions.

Continuing, the Chairman noted that the Registrar, as a university don, would be aware of the numerous problems bedevilling state universities and called on the Boa rd to support the s e institutions in their drive for excellence.

He stated that for the realisation of the nation's developmental aspirations, conscious efforts should be made to increase the carrying capacity of the various universities especially in highly-
subscribed programmes like medicine, engineering etc.

In his remarks, the Registrar commended the Pro-Chancellors for their sacrifice to ensure that their respective state universities are placed on sound academic footing. He said, as a former Vice-Chancellor and one-time chairman of Committee of Vi ce Chancellors (CVC), he could appreciate the extent of the numerous challenges before them. He urged all of them to remain focused as they devise means of attracting reasonable funding from their various State Governments. He said their visit, though at their instance, was very beneficial to the Board as the Board is ready to partner with them to devise a lasting solution to the lingering disruptions to the academic calendar of the nation's tertiary institutions.

While expressing joy with the caliber of personalities on the visit, he said, "When we have a constructive and intellectual set of Pro-Chancellors like you, it is only appropriate that we take advantage of your resourcefulness to create a platform where we can interact and critically look into the challenges of the University system and plan for a way forward."

Addressing the issue of carrying capacity, Prof. Oloyede disclosed that there was never a time that the tertiary institutions admit up to 80 percent of their carrying capacity. He said the problem has always been the preferences for few programmes over many others whose spaces are never filled. He said the solution would be the establishment of specialised institutions that will provide broad opportunities to candidates.

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Prof. Oloyede, while explaining to the group the workings of the Board’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) stated that every admission process is being monitored by the Board noting that only institutions are empowered to propose and recommend candidates to the Board.

He, however, expressed the readiness of the Board to partner with the committee in the task of repositioning state universities.