The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has discovered 3,000 fake graduates with illegal certificates across Nigeria. JAMB’s Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, revealed this alarming information in a report published in the board’s bulletin.
Oloyede explained that these fake graduates never attended any university. He made this announcement during a meeting with the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of State Universities in Nigeria (COPSUN) at JAMB’s National Headquarters in Abuja.
“Some ‘graduates’ had never entered the four walls of a university owing to the endemic corruption in the system, but the board had documented over 3,000 of such cases,” Oloyede stated.
He emphasized that the illegal admission of candidates into tertiary institutions is a significant embarrassment and a disservice to the nation.
Oloyede urged COPSUN to clamp down on illegal admissions, which harm the educational system and tarnish the country’s image.
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This development follows the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education’s order in December 2023 for JAMB to present a list of tertiary institutions involved in irregular and illegal admissions. JAMB has warned candidates to avoid accepting admissions from such institutions without full academic participation.
JAMB reiterated that all admissions to first degree, national diploma, national innovation diploma, and the Nigeria certificate in education must be processed through JAMB. Oloyede stressed that any admission not captured in JAMB’s Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) is illegal.
“For any admission into tertiary institutions, it has to be done through CAPS which is on the JAMB portal,” said Oloyede. “Any admission whatsoever that is outside the CAPS irrespective of the institution is illegal.”
JAMB also warned candidates who choose underhanded admissions would face consequences. The board made this clear in a post on its official X handle, responding to a user who suggested improvements to the admission regularisation process.
Oloyede had previously raised concerns about the number of illegal admissions by Nigerian tertiary institutions. Between 2017 and 2020, Nigerian institutions offered 706,189 illegal admissions, distorting enrollment statistics needed for national planning and development.
Among the universities with the highest number of illegal admissions are “the University of Jos with 7,600 cases, Benue State University with 6,161 cases, Olabisi Onabanjo University with 5,669 cases, Kwara State University with 4,281 cases, and Novena University with 3,432 cases.”
In the National Diploma category, “Kwara State Polytechnic led with 45,471 cases, followed by Auchi Polytechnic with 37,828 cases, and Yaba College of Technology with 30,856 cases. Other notable mentions include the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, and the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, each with over 24,000 cases.”