The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has directed tertiary institutions found to have violated admission guidelines to immediately reverse such admissions.
The Board said it discovered cases where candidates with higher rankings were allegedly sidelined in favour of others with lower scores, a practice it described as a clear breach of established admission rules.
The directive was contained in JAMB’s weekly bulletin issued on Monday in Abuja and signed by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin.
According to the bulletin, the Board had received reports on the manner in which some institutions conducted their admission exercises, particularly cases where merit was allegedly ignored.
“The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to the conduct of admissions by some tertiary institutions where higher-ranked candidates are reportedly being bypassed in favour of lower-ranked candidates,” the bulletin stated.
It added that firm measures had already been taken, including cautioning the affected institutions and ordering an immediate reversal of the irregular admissions.
“Notwithstanding these reversals, JAMB reiterates its call on all institutions to strictly adhere to the established guidelines governing the selection and admission of candidates,” the Board said.
JAMB restated that admissions into tertiary institutions are guided by a three-tier structure comprising Merit, Catchment Area and Educationally Less Developed States, with ranking serving as the key consideration at every level.
The Board explained that candidates must be selected strictly in order of ranking within each category, warning that any deviation from this procedure would attract sanctions.
“Any situation in which a better-ranked candidate is skipped for a lower-ranked candidate under any of these categories will not be tolerated by the Board,” it stressed.
The Board also addressed a separate complaint by a candidate who claimed she was unfairly denied admission by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, despite her high score.
JAMB said its investigation showed that the candidate was not discriminated against, as there were several applicants with higher rankings who were admitted ahead of her.
“Consequently, her non-admission was in line with due process of her not ranking high enough to be on the selected limit,” the statement noted.
While acknowledging that some institutions had breached admission regulations, the Board clarified that the complainant was not among those affected by the identified irregularities.
Reaffirming its position, JAMB said it remained committed to ensuring transparency and fairness in the admission process, adding that no candidate with a higher ranking would be displaced by a lower-ranked applicant.
The Board also advised candidates to avoid spreading unverified claims on social media and urged them to seek clarification through official channels.
“Candidates are urged to verify claims of admission irregularities through appropriate and official channels before promoting such allegations,” it said.
