It is concerning that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) recently found 3,000 forged certificates, and this finding highlights the pervasiveness of fraudulent operations in the education sector.
Development Diaries reports that JAMB raised the alarm that it has uncovered 3,000 ‘graduates’ possessing illegal certificates across the country.
According to JAMB’s Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, those involved were discovered to have never set foot within the four walls of a classroom.
There is no doubt that illegal admissions have remained a source of embarrassment to the education sector and the country at large. This is why this disclosure raises critical questions about the oversight role of JAMB as an institution.
JAMB is an institution that monitors and regulates admissions in tertiary institutions, but the educational body appears helpless in curbing this menace as this is not the first time it has uncovered illegal admissions.
In fact, according to media reports, Oloyede himself admitted that Nigerian tertiary institutions offered a total of 706,189 ‘illegal’ admissions across universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and monotechnics between 2017 and 2020.
Even though JAMB introduced the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) platform in 2017 to ensure quality control, transparency, and credibility of the admission process, enforcing compliance remains an issue.
Over time, it has been discovered that the JAMB boss identified and shamed guilty institutions but did not impose harsh punishments.
This makes the institution a toothless bulldog.
It is also unfortunate that academics who are supposed to be ambassadors for meritocracy and international best practices have become entangled in the web of wrongdoings, institutionalised corruption, and impunity.
This development highlights the gaps in existing policies and regulations as current measures may lack the comprehensive approach needed to address and mitigate such issues effectively.
It also points to inadequacies in the coordination between JAMB and other educational bodies and insufficient penalties for fraudulent practices.
To combat this menace, there is a need for more stringent policies and enhanced inter-agency collaboration.
Development Diaries calls on the JAMB registrar to apply appropriate sanctions to erring institutions in accordance with extant laws and regulations.
