Following the nationwide outcry that trailed the new admission policy of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the Federal Government has overruled the board and put the policy on hold.
Consequently, students that made the official cut-off marks had been directed to go and write post-UME examinations in their schools of first choice and later, with their second choice; thus, ending the controversy that had trailed the new policy. Also, the Federal Government had commenced consultations, with the aim of identifying where adjustments could be made.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, MacJohn Nwaobiala, disclosed this to State House correspondents, shortly after leading the ministry’s delegation to brief President Muhammadu Buhari on its activities and challenges, at the Presidential Villa.
The JAMB had, at its 2015 combined policy meeting, adopted a policy whereby candidates of universities, with surplus applicants for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) are re-assigned to other universities with lower number of applicants than their capacities.
Recall that protest started at the University of Lagos, when the institution’s authorities announced that only candidates whose names were officially forwarded by JAMB, were eligible to participate in this year’s post-UTME of the institution.
According to Nwaobiala, the decision was jointly taken at a stakeholders meeting, which had parents and others in attendance.
