JAMB Introduces New Rules For Candidates

Candidates seeking admission to tertiary institutions will have to abide by new rules from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), The Punch reports.


This is because the examination body has modified its procedure for students seeking admission for the 2016-2017 academic session with the introduction of the “preferred choice” platform in its portal. This new addition will enable candidates have wider opportunities of securing admission as sales of form for the session commenced on September 30 to end on January 30, 2016.


According to Dr Fabian Benjamin, the chief information officer of the board, who spoke during an exclusive interview on Monday, the modification, will lessen competition among candidates seeking placement to the nation’s “oversubscribed” universities.

“What we did initially was that you only have one choice. Now, we have made it in such a way that if you miss the University of Lagos; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira, you will have an opportunity of going to another school.

“Before, all universities will be in first and second choice and that will not solve any problem. We have now decided to put a few of those schools we feel will have more spaces as more preferred.

“Institutions placed on the more preferred choice are those that are mostly not oversubscribed. This is because it will not make any sense if you place institutions like the ABU, UNILAG, OAU and UNN, when in actual sense they cannot even admit one third of the candidates that will choose them as most preferred,” Benjamin said.

JAMB had during the 2015/16 session, arbitrarily redistributed admission seekers to universities other than their first choice institutions, which parents and candidates kicked against.

In its response to the distribution, JAMB claimed that the redistributing policy was to accommodate more candidates, reduce wastage of admission opportunities and the stress parents and candidates go through in seeking placement in schools.