The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has taken a decisive stand against irregularities in the university enrollment process, as the JAMB admission bias protest guide becomes a focal point for thousands of frustrated applicants nationwide.
In a significant policy shift aimed at ensuring transparency, the board’s Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, has publicly encouraged parents and guardians of candidates who were bypassed for admission despite meeting all merit requirements to formally challenge the institutions involved.
This directive follows growing reports of federal and state universities ignoring high performing candidates in favor of less qualified individuals, a practice that the board insists undermines the integrity of the Nigerian education system.
According to the board, the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) was designed specifically to eliminate human interference and ensure that every qualified student is treated fairly based on their UTME scores and O-level results.
However, internal audits have revealed that several institutions are still finding ways to circumvent the automated process by failing to upload the names of certain high scoring candidates to the portal, thereby creating artificial vacancies for preferred alternatives.
Professor Oloyede emphasized that any candidate who has evidence of being denied admission while another person with a lower score and the same prerequisites was accepted for the same course has a legitimate ground for a formal protest.
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The board has outlined a specific framework for these grievances, advising parents to first verify the status of their wards on the JAMB CAPS portal. If a candidate is found to have been unfairly excluded, the parent is urged to write a formal letter of complaint addressed to the Vice Chancellor of the university or the Rector of the polytechnic in question, while also copying the office of the JAMB Registrar.
This public call to action is intended to empower stakeholders to hold academic institutions accountable, moving away from a culture of silent resignation toward one of active civic engagement in the pursuit of educational justice.
JAMB further clarified that while institutions have the right to set their own post UTME screening criteria, these criteria must be applied uniformly to all applicants without exception. The board expressed concern over “discretionary admissions” that exceed the legally allowed quotas, noting that such actions often lead to the overpopulation of departments and the dilution of academic standards.
By urging parents to protest, JAMB is attempting to create a self-regulating system where the fear of public exposure and administrative sanctions serves as a deterrent against the manipulation of the admission list.
As the 2025/2026 admission cycle reaches its peak, the board has reiterated that it will not validate any admission that does not pass through the CAPS platform. Parents and candidates are warned that “under the table” admissions are not only illegal but also leave the student without a valid JAMB admission letter, which is essential for graduation and mobilization for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The board remains committed to its mandate of being a gatekeeper of merit, ensuring that the son of a commoner and the daughter of a billionaire are judged by the same numerical standard of excellence.