TheCable

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has commenced a probe into a report that 2,000 applicants lost their university admission over the failure of the board to upload their results.

On October 16, a report surfaced that about 2,000 applicants to the University of Lagos (UNILAG) who sat for JAMB’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) with awaiting O’level results were denied admission.

Candidates seeking to write UTME are often required to upload their O’level results — usually the senior secondary certificate exam (SSCE) document — to JAMB’s central admissions processing system (CAPS).

Candidates are allowed to register with “awaiting results” pending when their SSCE documents are released by their respective certificate-awarding exam agencies and are available for upload to CAPS.

Such an upload is expected to be done before the commencement of admission at the candidates’ chosen institutions.

However, according to the report, about 2,000 applicants to UNILAG with awaiting results, who uploaded their SSCE documents, were denied university admission.

It was alleged that this was due to JAMB’s failure to transmit the results during the stipulated admission window.

But in a statement signed by Fabian Benjamin, head of public affairs, the examination body said a probe into the allegation has commenced.

“As a regulator, one of the central responsibilities of the board to candidates and other stakeholders is to ensure that no candidate, who is qualified to be admitted is denied such admission,” the statement reads.

“Before this publication, some candidates, through the ticketing platform of the board, queried their failure to get admitted, positing that by virtue of their ranking on the platform, they ought to be admitted.

“Their claim is being investigated to ascertain their veracity with such universities being engaged to arrive at a just and equitable outcome. At the end of the investigations, it is our belief that justice would be seen to have been done.”

JAMB said cases of qualified candidates being denied admission would be looked into and rectified if genuine.

“All those who uploaded at the right time on CAPS and ranked appropriately would be considered by the University as stated by relevant advisories,” the board’s spokesperson added.

“We call on candidates, especially high-scoring ones, who are not offered admission and strongly feel they merit such, to take advantage of the board’s complaints platform and raise requisite tickets.

“Their complaints would be looked into expeditiously and resolved. If their application is deemed unsuccessful, they would be provided with sufficient reasons, if any, why they were not considered for admission.

“And where they had been unjustly denied their due rights, provided they have met all ranking requirements, the Board would ensure that they obtain redress.”

Adejoke Alaga, the UNILAG public relations officer (PRO), told TheCable that the university is working with JAMB to investigate the cases.