Reps Seeks 3-Year Validity For JAMB

The House of Representatives has called on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to allow its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) results to be valid for at least three years and should conduct entry exams, at least, twice annually.

This followed the adoption of a motion by Akintunde Rotimi at plenary on Wednesday.

Moving the motion, the lawmaker expressed concerns that JAMB examination results are only valid one year, adding that if candidates cannot secure admission into any tertiary institution of their choice in the academic year the exam was retaken, “the result is wasted no matter how good it is.”

He said despite the incessant strikes embarked upon by Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, which lead to the loss of complete academic calendars, JAMB still goes ahead to administer its examination annually without recourse to the effects of lecturers’ industrial action on the academic calendars.

He said the backlog of candidates waiting for admissions into the limited vacancies in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, and its attendant pressure on the education system and parents, was worrisome.

The lawmaker said the development had put parents in “double jeopardy” as they are forced to enroll their wards yearly for the examination.

Adopting the motion, the House urged the Federal Minister of Education to put mechanisms in place to ensure that the resolutions are executed.