JAMB: Senate Moves To Reduce Fees, Extend Validity To Three Years

The Senate on Wednesday adopted a motion to amend the Act establishing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) with a view to extend the validity of its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination to three years as against the present situation it lacks validity if failed to get admission.  

 

This development followed a report submitted by the Chairman, Committee on Tertiary Institutions and Tertiary Education Trust FUND, Senator Binta Garba having been mandated to investigate the JAMB admission and examination policies on November 17, 2015 with a view of coming up with practicable recommendations. 

In similar vein, the upper chamber resolved to reduce the cost of acquiring application form to N2,500 while change of courses or institution or any other changes in respect of the examination be made free adding that Computer Based Tests (CBT) laboratories be built in all institutions of learning. 

In her explanations, she said that the decision was in view of making the students adapt to the use of computers prior to the examinations noting that most of the students, who used the computer for the examinations used it for the first time during the examinations which she said was capable to leading to low performance in the examinations.

At the moment, a student applying for JAMB examination frustratingly pays the sum of N5, 650 annually to Joint Admission and Matriculation Board for procuring forms, but ended up in frustration due to harsh admission policy, hence with no hope of gaining admission.

In the new reform, a JAMB candidate will, if the Act is amended, have the privilege of choosing for one university, one polytechnic and one college of education under the same N2,500 package.

The Committee chairman also informed the Senate that the inadequate number of tertiary institutions in the country contribute to the ‘favouritism’ which is evident in the course of seeking for admissions and therefore advocated for the establishment of more institutions in the country towards eradicating the menace adding that in almost cases, the children of the poor parents suffer it more and thereby deprive them of advancing to the tertiary institution.