The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has assured of its readiness to collaborate with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to sanitise the nation’s education sector.
The body, in a statement by its Vice President, External Affairs, Babatunde Akinteye, said the board’s battle against malpractice and other examination vices is what has kept the system going.
Akinteye, who recently called out the agency following hiccups in the registration of direct entry candidates, said NANS is with the examination body in its fight against malpractice.
He said: “About two weeks ago, acting on a piece of information, I went with my team to the JAMB office at Ikoyi in Lagos at about 11p.m. and I met prospective direct entry candidates sleeping outside the office in a bid to meet up with the completion of their registration.
“I was forced to call out JAMB, as an agency and a meeting was summoned. It was during the meeting that we learnt that the registration centres were reduced because of abnormalities going on in some tertiary institutions.
“Some students allegedly purchase Ordinary National Diploma (OND) certificates and use same to obtain their direct entry forms to begin at a higher level in various institutions of higher learning,” he explained.
According to him, JAMB discovered the unhealthy practice and moved to streamline the registration centres for proper monitoring and supervision.
Akinteye said the union persuaded JAMB to decongest the centres and extend the closing date for more candidates to register.
“Lagos was given another registration centre, which is the JKK CBT centre on Ikorodu road and thereafter the decongestion continued. The issue now is that due to the extension, candidates have stopped going for registration, which shouldn’t be so.
Akinteye warned institutions involved in the certificate saga to desist or face the wrath of NANS.
He also pleaded to students to shun acts capable of compromising their future and avoid cutting corners.
Recall that the board, had on Tuesday, May 23, reopened another window for the registration of the direct entry candidates after public outcry for an extension of the exercise.
