From Kenneth Udeh, Abuja
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the University of Nigeria Nsukka have been accused of seeking gratifications and engaging in other sharp practices before granting admission seekers entrance into Universities and their choice courses.
Describing the allegations as too weighty to be ignored the Senate resolved to investigate the authenticity of the allegations contained in the motion titled “urgent Need to curtail the practice of undisclosed Admissions and other unwholesome practices by JAMB and Universities, particularly the University of Nigeria, Nsukka”.
At its plenary on Wednesday the motion’s sponsor Senator NwebonyiOnyeka Peter (Ebonyi North) narrated to the Senate how for obnoxious reasons students were short changed from their course of study after already granted admission and spending some years and financial expenses in the University citing the University of Nigeria Nsukka as an example.
The Senator informed the Senate that authorities of Tertiary Institutions in conspiracy with some JAMB officials have reverted to the practice of provisional admissions into prized professional courses like medicine and surgery, pharmacy, law, Engineering, nursing science and so on with view to shortchanging some students already offered admission in exchange for gratification.
Backing his claim Nwebonyi narrated to his colleagues the travails of how one Miss Chinyere Ekwe and 290 others who were originally admitted to study medicine and surgery at the University of Nigeria Nsukka but unfortunately had their admissions truncated on the order of JAMB for no plausible reason after they had completed the admission processes and since resumed lectures.
Giving further account Chinyere was said to have been redeployed to the department of medical laboratory science on the condition that if her cumulative grade point is up to 4.5 points after the first year, she would be transferred back to medicine and surgery.
However, The Senate were informed that despite the fact that she surpassed the 4.5 threshold, her admission status is still not yet certain as to whether she is duly admitted in the department of medicine and surgery of medical laboratory science.
Nwebonyi gave account:
“Miss Ekwe in particular, scored 291 in the 2019 UTME and 300 in the university’s post UTME which qualified her for the course, and was subsequently admitted by the university.
“these children who bestirred themselves to make good grades in their UTME are being made to pay the necessary fees, undergo the rigorous processes of registration and matriculation, resume lectures, and sometimes, even take semester examinations, only to be transferred to other less competitive courses by the universities in connivance with JAMB without any plausible explanations, thereby destroying their ambitions in the course of the unholy act of course swap.
Speaking on the consequences of JAMB and UNN’s actions Nwebonyi told the Senate that victims of this practice may be subjected to depression, suicide and other psychological traumas.
Nwebonyi highlighted the dangers:
“The psycho emotional trauma this unexplained course swap bears on the victims is so devastating that it is capable of leading the individuals to depression, loss of enthusiasm, and wore even, leading some of the victims into crimes; and also that such uncertainty and unfair treatment as meted out to Miss Chinyere Ekwe could cause the aspiring young girl irredeemable emotional trauma and loss of confidence in the Nigerian state.
“Such unwholesome practices put our educational system in jeopardy, cause apathy on the side of ordinary Nigerians and also dampen the renewed hope this government stands for.
The need to unravel the veracity of the motion was stressed by Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central). In his contribution the Senator who revealed that UNN is his Alma Mater stressed that the institution is known for its rigorous admission process in Nigeria.
Umeh backed the call for the Senate to invite officials of UNN and JAMB to answer questions raised in the allegation.
The Senate in its resolution announced by Senate President Godswill Akpabio mandated its committee on Public Petitions and Tertiary Education to conduct an investigation into the matter and report back to the Senate within 3 weeks.
The Senate struck out a prayer in Nwebonyi’s motion which asked the Senate to compel JAMB to give an admission letter to Miss Chinyere Ekwe to study Medicine and surgery science without further delay. Akpabio in his comment described the prayer as being too personal.