JAMB to announce new admission policies Tuesday

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, which began a meeting on Monday, is expected to formally announce a new holistic policy on Tuesday when the body is expected to conclude its ongoing deliberation.

The meeting, which involves admission officers of Nigerian tertiary institutions, is taking place at the National Judicial Institute in Abuja.

Issues discussed at the meeting include the introduction of Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) to ensure quality control, transparency and credibility of the admission process, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.

An attendee at Monday’s meeting explained that the new policy is expected to make provision for a ‘market place’ in the JAMB portal where institutions can go and ‘request for students in Nigeria who score their cut off points.’

These institutions will write to JAMB to request for the students and also give them (students) three days to respond. Also, only three universities can request for a candidate if the policy is adopted.

The new policy is also expected to allow institutions in Nigeria peg their cut off point after meeting with their respective senates.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the new policy will also give the academic board or senate of an institution the power to ‘allocate percentages to JAMB, the school and O’level results as these will be calculated to get the students’ cut off marks for post-UTME.’

It was also learnt that JAMB wants to ensure there is a unified time for closing admission in all universities.

If the policy sails through, there will be a portal for admission which will be based on cut off points, quota system and catchment areas.

“The new system is such that institutions can only admit those who meet their cut off points,” an admission officer for a tertiary institution who was at the meeting told PREMIUM TIMRS. “If a candidate does not meet the cut off, no matter whom he or she knows, such person cannot be admitted.”

The official said the system was demonstrated to all the attendees at Monday’s meeting, most of whom expressed satisfaction with it.

Also, the policy intends to make provisions for candidates to accept and reject any admission being offered to them.

The intended policy also looks out for candidates who are unable to go for National Youth Service, NYSC, because they do not have JAMB admission letters. This set of students could be asked to pay a fee, about N10,000 for regularisation and would be able to go for the youth service.

JAMB is expected to formally brief journalists on these new policies on Tuesday afternoon.