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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said on Sunday that it is not against its examination guidelines for candidates to wear hijabs or other religious things.
The board reacted to a reported incident where a hijab-wearing candidate was asked to remove the veil as part of the accreditation processes at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, in Lagos State.
JAMB in a statement by its spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, noted that the situation has been investigated and that the persons involved have been sanctioned.
The statement added that the situation was instantly addressed by a senior board official at the centre, and the candidate in question was allowed in after the usual checks with her hijab.
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The examination body assured that this issue would be investigated appropriately to prevent a recurrence.
JAMB’s statement reads in part: “The Board deeply regretted the incident and, on investigation discovered, that this particular incident or others in the past, is not linked to any of its examination guidelines but rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the Board’s accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the Board’s guidelines on accreditation, which ensures that all candidates are screened allowing only female officials to screen female candidates before allowing them to gain entrance into the hall.
“However, since ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the officials have been appropriately sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others wishing to toe the same in the future reward.
“The Board is committed to the discharge of its statutory role of ensurinsuitably qualified candidates are selected for admission into the nation’s tertiary institutions and would not allow anything or anyone to detract its pursuit of this noble goal.”
2024 UTME
More than 1.9 million candidates are taking the ongoing serves as an entrance examination into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The exam, which began on 19 Friday across the country, would continue until Monday, 29 April.
By, Monday, 22 April, 1.2 million candidates are expected to have successfully taken the examination, according to JAMB.
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