Direct Entry Registration: Applicants Encounter Difficulties

Applicants for this year’s Direct Entry (DE) into universities and polytechnics in Nigeria are currently encountering significant difficulties during the registration process with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Unprecedented Difficulties in Registration

The situation has become particularly severe at the Lagos office of JAMB. Some applicants are resorting to sleeping at the board’s headquarters to ensure they get registered. The DE candidates have accused the examination body of insensitivity and “inhumane” treatment.

A video shared with SchoolGist revealed the extent of the issue, showing some applicants sleeping on the road and outside the JAMB office premises in Ikoyi. Reports indicate that some applicants arrived as early as 5:00 a.m. at the board’s headquarters.

The DE registration, which was originally scheduled to end on April 20, was extended to continue after the computer-based Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which ended on May 6.

JAMB’s Response to the Situation

However, JAMB has blamed the candidates for waiting until the last minute before showing up for registration. The board’s spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, said that all candidates willing to register for the DE, particularly those who have purchased their PINs, will be registered.

Benjamin pointed out that it’s typical for candidates to besiege registration centres at the last minute, observing that the JAMB offices have been “empty” before this rush.

Curbing the Use of Fake A-level Results

The board is introducing new initiatives in this year’s DE registration to curb the use of fake A-level results by candidates; a situation that has become rampant. Benjamin recalled how Bayero University, Kano (BUK) expelled almost 200 students for presenting fake A-level results.

To tackle this, Benjamin explained, “What we’ve done is to ensure that registration is only conducted in our own offices. It’s just an entry measure, but this year, we are trying to use that as a pilot program to see what is actually happening – how these candidates forge A-level results, and were able to actually enter into the system.”

By next year, he said the board hopes to have uncovered all the tactics being used and come up with measures to address them.

A-level Results Acceptable for DE Registration

The board has listed the acceptable A-level results for this year’s DE registration. These include a university diploma, Ordinary National Diploma (OND), National Diploma (ND), Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE), Higher National Diploma (HND) and a university degree.

Others are Interim Joint Matriculation Board (IJMB), Joint Universities Preliminary Examination Board (JUPEB), NABTEB Advanced National Business Certificate, NABTEB Advanced National Technical Certificate, NABTEB GCE-A’ Level (2015 – 2021), Higher Islamic Studies Certificate by NBAIS, International Baccalaureate, and the National Registered Nurse/ Midwife certificates.

Despite the challenges faced by DE applicants, JAMB is committed to ensuring that all willing candidates are allowed to register and is working to improve the registration process to prevent such issues in the future.