Stop Doing It!! ASUU Blast JAMB, Accuse Them Of Robbing Nigerians

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has cautioned the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to stop exploiting Nigerians in its drive to remit impressive revenues to Federal Government’s coffers.

ASUU President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, who stated this in an interview with The Guardian in Abuja, accused JAMB of profiting from exploiting Nigerian students and their poor parents, adding that the board was charging more than what was required to conduct the examination.

JAMB had on Sunday announced that it would remit N7.8 billion to the Federal Government as surplus generated from the conduct of its 2018 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Cumulatively, the board has remitted over N15.6 billion to the Federal Government in less than two years.

Ogunyemi said by remitting N7.8 billion to the Federal Government, as proceeds from UTME application forms in 2018, JAMB had become a revenue-generating agency.

He added that JAMB as a government agency was not set up for profit making, but to promote educational development of young Nigerians in pursuit of higher education and professional careers.

His words: “We said it last year when they said they remitted about N5 billion, but this time around, it is remitting over N7 billion; is JAMB now a profit making organisation?, he queried.

Ogunyemi accused the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, of trying to use remittances as an avenue to create the impression that he was an icon of probity and integrity.

Speaking, President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Danielson Bamidele, appealed to the Ministry of Education to reduce the cost of purchasing JAMB forms.

He said there was the need for JAMB to focus more in conducting a credible examination for students seeking admissions into tertiary institutions instead of the emphasis on remitting revenue to the Federal Government.

Bamidele also sought an extension of the validity of UTME results to at least three years.

Responding to ASUU’s comments, JAMB Public Relations Officer (PRO), Fabian Benjamin, said the remittance was made possible by the board’s prudent management of resources.

The JAMB spokesman, who disclosed that UTME registration fee was one of the cheapest globally, however, assured Nigerians that it would not increase the fee in the next five to six years.