THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has urged parents and candidates to speak up if they are confident in their Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scores but are denied admission into their desired institutions.
News Point Nigeria reports that the Registrar of JAMB, Ishaq Oloyede, made the call during an interview on Good Morning Nigeria, a programme of the Nigerian Television Authority.
In a video shared by the NTA on Tuesday, Oloyede explained that despite improvements in the admission system, many parents still resort to illegal means, largely because they have become accustomed to such practices and believe there are no alternatives.
According to him, “People are so daring, and the parents, because they have climbed the ladder to illegality, they believe there is no other way.”
He recounted instances where parents reached out to him seeking assistance to secure admission for their children, noting that in many cases, he declined to intervene.
“I’ve seen many people who sent their children’s scores to me and asked what they could do. I tell them I will do nothing, and the candidate is admitted—and they thank me. I did nothing,” he said.
The JAMB registrar stressed that the current system is transparent and structured to ensure fairness for all candidates, pointing specifically to the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) as a major reform.
“If you find anybody, if you are sure of yourself, you have a score, and this is the UTME score of my child, and you know that you ought to be admitted and you are not admitted, protest to us because CAPS has made everything easy,” he said.
Oloyede further revealed that since the introduction of CAPS in 2017, there has been no reported issue undermining its credibility, describing the system as fully capable of managing admissions without interference or errors.
Addressing concerns around Direct Entry admissions, the registrar disclosed that JAMB has significantly strengthened its verification processes across various programmes, making it increasingly difficult for candidates to forge academic credentials.
“Since 2023, annually, the rates had gone down. Many people are no longer applying for direct entry because they know we are supervising thoroughly and every year, this year, we have arrested, we have caught 77, but we did more prevention,” he said.
He added that examination bodies such as JUPEB and IJMB are now closely monitored at the entry stage, reducing opportunities for malpractice.
“JUPEB, IJMB and all the rest—we check at the point of entry and we made it impossible for them to forge, but there are still degrees,” he stated.
Oloyede also disclosed that JAMB has expanded its verification to include degrees presented for admission, working directly with awarding institutions, including foreign universities, to confirm authenticity.
“This year, we had about four or five cases where foreign institutions reported that the degree presented was not theirs,” he revealed.
Explaining past lapses, he noted that earlier gaps in verification existed because A-level checks were not initially part of JAMB’s core responsibilities.
“The answer to your question was that that was possible because at that time, we were not checking the A-level and it’s not part of primarily our duty. That’s why we don’t want to be diverted,” he said.
He added that JAMB has since partnered with experts within the university system to strengthen its processes and ensure it remains focused on its mandate while improving admission integrity.