TheCable

A civil society group known as the Joint Action Coalition of Civil Society Organisation for Transparency in Governance has endorsed the on-going reforms and innovations at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

The groups said the innovations introduced by Ishaq Oloyode, the registrar, will deal with corruption in the educational sector and eradicate the problem of admission racketeering.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Sabo Odeh, executive director/convener of the coalition, condemned the recent attack on JAMB by ASUU.

“If ASUU is allowed to dictate how JAMB does it work, it is a matter of time before the lecturers set their sight on WAEC, Secondary and even primary schools,” he said.

“The clamour by ASUU that each university should be allowed to handle its own admission processes is an open call to empower these admission syndicates operated by no other persons but ASUU members.

“Heeding ASUU’s ill-conceived call would send us back to the problems that JAMB was set up to solve.

“In the years that preceded JAMB, it was common to see some candidates secure admission into as many as five universities which implies that four slots would we wasted as the student can only resume in one school while several other candidates are made to wait another year at home because these  slots have been wasted.”

Odeh accused the union of frustrating interventions that would re-establish Nigerian university as centre of excellence.

He said Nigerians were now aware of their antics and will ensure that the progress made by JAMB under  Oleyede is sustained.

The union had expressed reservations over some of the policies initiated by Oloyode.