School reopening: JAMB considers new date for admissions

By JOSEPH ERUNKE, Abuja

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, is considering a new date for the commencement of the 2020 admissions processes from the earlier announced date of 22nd August, 2020.

Accordingly, the Board will be meeting all the tertiary institutions on Monday, 10th August, 2020, to brainstorm on the possibility of shifting the commencement of admissions to a date that would better accommodate the vagaries of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

JAMB, in its weekly news bulletin, released Sunday evening, through its Head of Media, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said:

“As a responsive organisation whose mantra is equity and fairness, the Board desires that every aspiring candidate who had taken its UTME be given equal opportunity to compete with his/her peers for the available openings.”

“This is the reason for its call for another meeting with all the institutions with a view to amending the earlier and mutually-agreed date for the conduct of Post-UTME screening and other processes,” the bulletin read.

It read further: “As intellectuals, it is incumbent on the Board and the various tertiary institutions to always provide practical solutions to perceived challenges for the smooth running of the sector without being prompted by the government. Such solutions, when arrived at, would then be forwarded to the relevant Ministries or Agencies for further inputs and necessary approvals.

“It is in view of this that the Board is working to pre-empt any unpalatable situation that may arise if institutions conduct their admissions without accommodating the vast number of candidates that are  about to take their O’ level examinations.

“Consequently, the Board would, at the meeting, be looking at the possibility of ensuring that the various institutions either delay or prolong their screening exercises to accommodate candidates who will be taking the 2020 O’ level Examinations to be conducted by WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, etc.

“The public will recall that owing to the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 Pandemic, candidates who had sat the Board’s UTME under the Awaiting Results stipulation, were unable to take the Senior School Certificate Examinations conducted by the  West Africa Examination Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO), National Business  and  Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) etc., as scheduled.

“It would also be recalled that owing to the further relaxation of the COVID-19-inspired restrictions by the Federal Government, the West African Examination Council has fixed the commencement of its examinations from 17th August, 2020, and end them on 12th September, 2020; National Business and Technical Education Board would conduct its series of examinations from 21st September, 2020, to 15th October, 2020, while the National Examinations Council would commence its own examination from 5th October and end same on 17th November, 2020.” (Vanguard)