The Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has accused some higher institutions of mobilising and awarding IJMB/JUPEB certificates to individuals, who did not attend their institutions.

Oloyede alleged that some of the certificates issued by the Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB) and Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board (JUPEB) centres for Direct Entry into universities were fakes

He made the allegation in Abuja on Tuesday, at the 2021 Batch ‘B’pre-mobilisation workshop of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) on the theme; “Sustainable Mobilisation Process: The Role of Stakeholders”.

IJMB and JUPEB are national educational programmes approved by the Federal Government. They are qualifying examinations, for candidates seeking Direct Entry admissions into Nigerian and foreign universities, coordinated by some universities with centres across the country.

Oloyede, however, expressed worry over the indiscriminate proliferation of IJMB and JUPEB training centres across the country, some of which he said were compromising the standards.

According to him, many institutions operating the centres still engage in mobilising or awarding IJMB/JUPEB certificates to people who did not attend their institutions.

He alleged that some of the candidates who attended most of the centres did not merit the certificates given to them because they never attended the class but bought certificates with money.

“I give you one example, you are in a position to know, you run IJMB and JUPEP, how many of these students are actually your students? Go on the streets of Nigeria, everywhere you see IJMB, these candidates are not supposed to be attending that, they are supposed to be in higher institutions. In Abuja here, you can find up to 100 and they will publicly put it `IJMB training centre,’ this is totally wrong,” he said.

The Registrar also commended the introduction of the National Identification Number (NIN) which had helped to curb examination malpractice in its examination conduct.

“This year we use National Identification Number (NIN) and we are very happy because examination malpractice, particularly, impersonation in crimes has reduced. And that is why many people are not happy with us, if they have anything to do with JAMB they say something different,” he said.

In his address, the NYSC Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, said that the Pre-Mobilisation Workshop heralded the commencement of the Service Year with the constructive engagement of NYSC State Schedule Officers and some of their collaborating partners.

“We will use this avenue to strategise for a smooth process, especially through the resolutions that will be made in the course of our discussions. Moreover, the activities lined up for this programme commenced in earnest on Monday with data collation from the various Corps Producing Institutions,” he said.

He commended Nigerians, including high-ranking public officials, traditional rulers, the media as well as students youth groups, for voicing out support for the continued existence of the Scheme.

(The Nation)

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