JAMB Explains Non-admission Of Over 500,000 Candidates In 2019

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has given reasons why about 500,000 candidates failed to gain admission into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in 2019 session.



JAMB Registrar/Chief Executive, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede explained that admission spaces were not allocated to candidates, representing 45.48 per cent of the total admission quota in the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).



According to JAMB policy document made available to journalists, only 612,557 candidates secured admission out of 1.12 million admission quotas available from the 2019 UTME. The figure represents 54 per cent of the total quota of admission for the year.



The document also showed that the total quota for all tertiary institutions in 2019 was 1, 123,514 out of which, 612,557 were used and 510, 957 remain unused.



On the quota, the examination body explained that the system is a selection method (for employment, school admission, among others) that allocates certain percentages based on specific qualities, needs or profiles such as ethnic or racial background and gender.



This system of university admission was introduced in an attempt to provide admission for candidates into the university using the federal character policy of the federal government.



The quota the exam body revealed represents the number of candidates that should be admitted into the tertiary institutions in one academic year from each state.



The system comprises important elements such as academic merit, which is determined by the candidates’ university matriculation examination scores, and it is allotted 45 per cent.



The second element is educationally disadvantaged states with 20 per cent, the catchment areas with 25 per cent and 10 per cent to the discretion of vice-chancellors.



JAMB therefore, is guided by these provisions in the admission process, each year. Breakdown of the unused admission quota by institutional category shows that 560,613 spaces was allocated to degree-awarding institutions, 403,225 to all institutions that award National Certificate Examination, 145,394 to institutions that award national diploma and 14,282 to National Innovative Diploma (NID) awarding institutions.

(Dailytimes)