The National Assembly proposes to change the statute creating the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to set the age limit for admission hopefuls at 16 years old, according to the Senate.

The Upper Chamber stated that it had highlighted two significant areas in which the proposed amendment should be addressed in order for the examination body to work more effectively.

Akon Eyakenyi, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, made the announcement during a visit to the JAMB headquarters in Bwari, Abuja.

For candidates who meet the admission standards, certain public universities have set the admission age at 18 years old.

Eyakenyi said: “Our own work is that of making laws, to legislate. We have identified two major areas that we need to go into the process of amending the Act establishing JAMB. That’s the area of support we will give.

“Other than that, we also intend to pass on what we have seen today to the appropriate ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), the Federal Ministry of Education, to ensure that the support JAMB needs is given to them.”

The senator, who emphasized the importance of education to Nigeria’s development and future, said the sector deserved the most focus because great education can only be attained via money and teacher and student engagement.

Eyakenyi described JAMB as a “bridge” between secondary and university education, saying it was a “essential vehicle” for delivering quality and standard education in Nigeria.

“If the products from the secondary schools are not properly catered for to be assessed before turning them into the university, definitely you will have a problem,” she said.

Eyakenyi praised the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for conducting the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) without any malpractices.

The senator noted that each candidate had to respond to distinct questions, comparing JAMB Registrar Prof. Is-haq Oloyede to a round peg in a round hole.

Apart from their monthly wages, the committee queried why JAMB had nearly 100% performance on its 2020 budget and over N500 million devoted to workers’ wellbeing.

The board, according to Oloyede, does not have the authority to exclude any candidate based on their age.

Individual schools, such as the University of Ibadan (UI), which does not allow candidates under the age of 16, can determine who to admit, according to the JAMB head.

He went on to say that the board’s budget was only 75% implemented since the government mandated that 25% of allocated cash be returned to the Federation Account.

JAMB employees, according to Oloyede, were given incentives to resist the temptation of collaborating with fraudsters to commit malpractice while conducting exams across the country.

Parts of the charges, he claims, were for local travel, transportation, and allowances.

He went on to say that JAMB has also asked the National Wages, Incomes, and Salaries Commission for permission to pay its employees the 13th month salary every year.

Source: The Vanguard.