By JOSEPH ERUNKE, Abuja

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB

has stopped universities and other tertiary institutions in the country running degree programmes from directly admitting candidates on their sandwich, distance learning, part-time and other programmes.

The board insisted that henceforth, all admissions to the various programmes in the nation’s higher institutions must be processed through it, warning the institutions against flouting the new rule.

“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board would no longer condone any illegal/ irregular admission by any institution,”JAMB announced in its weekly news bulletin, released on Monday through its Head of Media and Protocol,Dr Fabian Benjamin.

According to the bulletin,the cessation of the”illegal admissions” was contained in a an advisory issued by the Board.”

“The advisory further made it clear that the new hardline position taken by the Board was informed by the quantum of applications received for candidates for condonement of illegal admissions popularly known by candidates as ‘Regularisation’ adding that such ignoble acts would no longer be tolerated by the Board.

“The advisory further reiterated that all applications for admissions to First Degree, National Diploma, National Innovation Diploma and the Nigeria Certificate in Education into Full-Time, Distance Learning, Part-Time, Outreach, Sandwich, etc., must be processed only through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).Consequently, institutions which are still involved in advertising or selling 'application forms' for admissions into the programmes listed above were advised to desist forthwith,” the bulletin read.

The bulletin further read:

”The advisory, therefore, enjoined institutions to advise their candidates to apply to them through the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), adding that duplication of

application forms is also not allowed.

"On the other hand, candidates are to ensure that any admission issued to them by any institution is routed through the Board even before considering to accept such offers."

The advisory stated that the Board would not succumb to pressure from any quarter to clear any candidate for the NYSC or other essential needs if he/she had accepted any admission from any institution which did not follow laiddown regulations as emphasized above.

“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the three Regulatory Agencies: (National Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) will ensure that all Tertiary Institutions comply with this policy directive.

“Other Professional Regulatory Agencies are also expected to play critical roles in sanitising the process.In the same vein, the Board restated the need to streamline academic standards and maintained that the duration of all Non- Full Time Studies must be maintained as approved by the Regulatory Agencies."

This, he said, is generally not less than one hundred and fifty percent (150%) of the equivalence of Full Time.

“Institutions which desire to place advertisement to source for candidates can do so but they have to advise potential candidates, beginning from those who sat the current UTME (or DE candidates), to change to or pick these institutions as First (1st) Choice rather than the tortuous route of requesting candidates to purchase another application form."

This, the advisory noted, would prevent the issue of double registration. (Vanguard)

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