The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) on Sunday said all admissions processes for the 2020 admissions year in all Nigerian universities and other institutions of higher learning must be completed latest by June 15.
The examination body said the announcement is in respect of admissions based on the University matriculation examination it conducted last year for fresh admissions the 2020/2021 academic session.
Titled: “2020 Admissions: Heads of Tertiary Institution sets 15th June, 2021 Deadline”, JAMB urged heads of institutions to observe strict compliance to advisories on transfer, change of programmes and institutions.
The statement read in part: “All admissions in the nation’s tertiary institutions for the 2020/2021 Academic Session would end by June 15, 2021.
“The decision was collectively taken at a virtual meeting with Heads of Tertiary Institutions in the country on Wednesday, February 24, 2021.”
The statement quoted the Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, as saying in his remarks at the occasion that the meeting with the representatives of institutions was aimed at knowing the level reached on the 2020/21 Admissions scale.
The JAMB boss said the essence of the meeting was to forestall an endless admission regime generated by the series of disruptions to daily life occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the meeting would enable the Board to put necessary machinery in place for the 2021/2022 UTME/DE Registration Exercise.
The Registrar informed participants at the meeting that only 30 percent of institutions had started the processes of admission of new students into the 2020/2021 academic session.
He said there was the need to collectively decide when to close the 2020/2021 admission exercise, adding that the proposal was for all public universities to end admissions four weeks ahead of their private counterparts, the Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and IEIs.
“After a robust and insightful deliberation, members collectively agreed that all public universities are expected to finish their admissions on or before 15th May, 2021, while the private universities and all IEIs, polytechnics and COEs would complete theirs at the agreed date of 15th June, 2021,” he said.
Oloyede reiterated that the chosen deadlines remained sacrosanct and binding on all institutions as the Board would not tolerate any breaches of the collective decision reached at the meeting.
He said the board would announce in a week’s time the commencement date for the sale of application documents for the 2021/2022 Academic Session.
In a related development, the Board has urged all institutions to adhere strictly to all advisories issued to them on inter/intra-university transfers, foreign inter-university transfers and fresh foreign candidates.
The advisory, which also relates to change of programmes and institutions and other essential processes related to admission is to avoid unnecessary bickerings that could endanger the future of innocent candidates and their subsequent mobilization for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The JAMB registrar said these advisories and procedures were to serve as guides for the various institutions on how to handle the various admission issues
The registrar disclosed that although transfer of candidates within institutions locally or internationally was an acceptable process as approved by the senate or council of the respective institutions, they must follow due process.
JAMB said as a responsible organisation and gatekeeper, it would not allow the process to be circumvented to allow unqualified candidates to gain access to the institutions of higher learning in the country.
“JAMB would not be a party to any improper transfer or breach of set guidelines. 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,” he further explained
