By Sodiq Adelakun
Over 150 institutions may prevent students from processing Direct Entry admissions due to failed verification of their certificates from awarding institutions.
The registration for DE examinations is scheduled to begin on February 28, 2024. In February 2023, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) released an advisory to assist candidates aiming to secure admissions through Direct Entry for the 2023/2024 academic session.
JAMB’s advisory primarily aimed to tackle the problem of candidates attempting to gain admission using unacceptable or forged A-level certificates/qualifications.
According to JAMB, the advisory was basically to address the issue of candidates using unacceptable or forged A-level certificates/ qualifications to gain admission.
Recently, JAMB advised the candidates to contact their former institutions as soon as possible to have their certificates verified, stressing that it would not accept students with unverified certificates.
JAMB also stated that it had written to all tertiary institutions that issued certificates and that a substantial number of them had answered positively, but others had not.
A memo from JAMB to certain institutions in Abuja state, “You may be aware that the Board has implemented measures to combat the use of unacceptable or forged A’ level certificates/qualifications by candidates seeking admission. One of these measures is the verification of claimed qualifications with the relevant awarding bodies/institutions.
“Institutions awarding A’ Level qualifications, degrees, and diplomas had been requested, through the central admissions processing system, to verify the authenticity of the qualifications and results presented by candidates to the board for admission.
“Despite the letters and follow-ups made by the board to institutions to verify the claimed certificates, 2,795 are yet to be verified from 155 institutions, as some have partially or totally not responded.”
According to the memo, some of the institutions include Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo; College of Health Technology, Plateau; College of Education, Lafiagi, Kwara state; College of Education, Oju, Benue state among others.
Earlier, JAMB had noted that as part of efforts to arrest this series of unwholesome practices.
“The Nigeria Post-secondary Education Data System also known as NIPEDS had written to all tertiary institutions in the country to facilitate the verification of the A-level certificates of their respective students.
“While a significant number of these institutions have responded and had their students’ A-level certificates verified and the admissions of their students consequently processed, NIPEDS has yet to receive any response from many institutions,” the statement said.
“In effect, all such candidates holding the certificates of these institutions would not be considered for admission until they are verified.”