Latest news with #JAMB
The South African
6 days ago
- Politics
- The South African
Too young for uni? Nigeria sets 16 as new admission age
The Federal Government of Nigeria has formally set the minimum age requirement for university admission at 16 years old. Overall, the 2025 academic year will see the immediate implementation of this policy. In addition, the decision aims to align academic requirements with children's cognitive development. Education Minister Dr Tunji Alausa announced this in Abuja at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board's (JAMB) 2025 policy meeting. Dr Alausa stated that all educational institutions cannot compromise on the minimum age of sixteen. Furthermore, he emphasised that the methodology balances academic preparedness with cognitive maturity. Any attempts to change age data should be avoided, according to the minister. Establishments found to be falsifying age data will face severe sanctions. It is against the law to make admissions outside of the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). Be that as it may, this strict enforcement aims to uphold the integrity of the admissions procedure. Nigeria set a minimum age of 18 for early 2024, and former Education Minister Prof. Tahir Mamman faced strong opposition to his previous strategy. As a result, teachers and parents expressed concern that it would unfairly exclude several deserving students. Dr Tunji Alausa removed the 18-year restriction following a government upheaval in October 2024. To create a more inclusive system, the minimum age is now 16. Hence, it helps children who are exceptionally intelligent for their age. The policy reinforces the government's commitment to high-quality education. Moreover, this change provides clarity for prospective college applicants nationwide. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Jamb put university admission cut off mark for 150
Nigeria goment don announce cut off marks for admission into Universities, Polytechnics and colleges across di kontri. Minister of Education Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa say di cut off marks for universities go be 150, Colleges of nursing go be 140, Polytechnics go be 100 while Colleges of Education go be 100. Di minister make di announcement afta policy meeting wit Vice Chancellors, Rectors, Provosts and Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (Jamb) for Abuja Nigeria capital. Di meeting agree say all admission processing must end by December 2025. Di meeting also agree say if any school offer pesin admission, di candidate get maximum of four weeks to accept di admission or reject am, or di admission go dey forfeited. Di minister for education also announce say henceforth admission age go be 16 as against di age 18 wey dem bin announce last year. During Di meeting JAMB registrar Ishaq Oloyede announce say during dis year admission, candidate's admission document go carry dia score and dia rank for di general exam. We dey update dis tori
BBC News
23-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
All you need know about Jamb mop-up exam
Di Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board don set Saturday, 28 June, to conduct di 2025 UTME mop-up examination. UTME na entrance exams wey pipo wey dey find admission to enta Nigeria public and private universities dey write. Jamb board bin don announce earlier say dem go conduct mop-up exam for candidates wey bin miss di UTME exam for April and di rescheduled UTME exam for May. Dem tell di candidates wey miss di 2025 UTME to start to print dia registration slips from Monday, 23 June. Di slip contain dia examination centres and di time of examination. According to di exam join bodi na 96,838 candidates dem reschedule to sit for di mop-up exam for 183 centres across di kontri. JAMB say di first session for di examination go start by 8 a.m West African time. Wetin happun for di 2025 UTME? Di Join body wey dey run Nigeria university-entrance exams bin admit say dem experience "technical glitch" wey affect some of di results for dis year tests, afta nearly 80% of students bin get low grades. Students bin complain say dem bin no fit log in to di computers, questions no bin dey show and light wahala make am impossible to take di examinations. Di low pass rate bin spark widespread outrage, especially afta one candidate take her own life. Faith Opesusi Timileyin, 19, wey bin wan study microbiology for university, die afta she swallow poison, her family tok. Her father and elder sister bin tell BBC say she bin write di exam for di second time and she get 146 marks out of 400, lower dan 193 wey she get di last year. "Di pain make her take her own life," her father, Oluwafemi Opesusi, tell BBC Pidgin. Generally 200 or above out of 400 dey enough to get a place for university for di exams wey Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) dey organize. Only 400,000 out of di 1.9 million students bin achieve dat mark, na one of di worst performances in recent years. Afta many pipo hala well- well, Jamb say dem go allow students for some areas to retake dia exams. One student, Favour Eke, bin tell BBC say 10 of di165 questions no appear for di screen - all wey she see na multiple choice options for di answers. "Dem tell us to omit di blank questions and kotinu di exam but e bin dey very hard to concentrate afta dat," she tok. She bin also experience technical problems to get her results, e mean say e dey very unlikely for her to get into university dis year - wey be di third time she don take di exams. She bin write di test for di capital, Abuja, wey no be one of di centres wia students bin retake dia exams, dis whole tin really spoil her mind. Anoda student say she bin get trouble to log in to di computer bifor anoda pesin profile mysteriously appear for di screen, wey show different kwesions and den di machine briefly shut down completely. "I bin no get answer to all di kwesions wen dem tell us say our time don end becos a lot of my time I bin waste am sake of those technical difficulties," im tok. Di exam body bin apologise for di "painful damage" and "di trauma wey e bin subject affected Nigerians". For press conference, JAMB registrar Ishaq Oloyede break down in tears as im apologise. Im announce say almost 380,000 candidates for 157 bin dey affected centres dem from a total of 887, wey go able retake dia exams starting from Saturday. Di zones wey dey most affected na Lagos and several states for south-east. JAMB blame a failure of di computer system to upload exam responses by candidates in these areas during the first days of di exams. E say na di "unusual level of public concerns and loud complaints" na im "prompt us to do an immediate audit or review". Ordinarily, dis no for happun for June, it said. Di national exam, wey dem dey call Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), na computer-based test wey be requirement for those wey wan join universities and oda tertiary institutions. Di 2025 test, wey JAMB organize for March, bin dey marred by disruptions due to power outages in some areas. Di head of di exams body earlier bin defended di poor results, e say say e reflect di "true academic abilities" of di students and na becos dem dey clamp down on cheating. Many Nigerians on social media bin dey cal for accountability, with some seeking Oloyede' resignation. Opposition figure Peter Obi bin say while di admission of fault dey commendable,di issue wey dem raise "na very concerning issue on glitches and di grave havoc" for critical institutions. Rights activist Rinu Oduala say na "incompetence. Na educational sabotage. Dem suppose arrest am immediately."
AFP
23-06-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Posts mislead with claims of Nigeria's southeast being excluded from development projects
'Student Loan excluded South East, Jamb failed South East, Sea port, none in South East, NNPC/FIRS/Customs none from South East, Int'l Airport none in South East, Railway none in South East, Military checkpoints, everywhere in South East,' reads a post shared more than 900 times on Facebook. 'When they cry, you call them IPOB,' concludes the post, published on May 19, 2025. The post was shared by a page belonging to Nigerian singer Charles Oputa, popularly known as 'Charly Boy', to his 180,000 followers. AFP Fact Check has previously debunked claims by Charly Boy (here, here, here and here). Image Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, taken on June 16, 2025 Nigeria's southeast comprises the states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. A previous unilateral declaration of independence in the region and the creation of the republic of Biafra in 1967 led to a 30-month civil war that claimed more than one million lives, most of them Igbos, from the effects of conflict, starvation and disease. In 2015, renewed protests for Biafran independence re-emerged after decades, with Nnamdi Kanu as a leading figure. He was arrested in Kenya and extradited to Nigeria on June 27, 2021. He faces charges related to treason (archived here). His trial began afresh on March 21, 2025, after the former judge recused herself (archived here). However, the posts claim that the region has been excluded from infrastructural and development projects is misleading. Loan programme The claim that the southeast region was excluded from a national student loan programme is false. The programme was introduced by the Bola Tinubu administration in May 2024 to encourage more people to pursue higher education (archived here). As of May 2025, the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) said it had received over a million loan applications for tuition and upkeep from about 629,000 students (archived here). Data published by the fund showed that a little more than 40,000 students from the southeast had submitted over 57,000 loan applications. Image Screenshot of the loan disbursement dashboard taken on June 18, 2025 JAMB failure The claim about JAMB failure refers to the entry examination taken by teenagers who want to pursue tertiary education. The exam, Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), is coordinated by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). JAMB reported mass failure in the 2025 edition of the examination, where 78% of the candidates scored less than 200 out of the maximum 400 points (archived here). The failure was later attributed to a technical glitch that affected students in the Lagos and southeast zones. About 206,000 students were affected in Lagos and 173,387 students were affected in the southeast zone (archived here). So this claim is true, though not limited to the southeast. Seaport The claim that there is no seaport in the southeast region of Nigeria is correct. Nigeria currently has seven seaports, which are all located in the southwest and south-south regions due to their proximity to the Atlantic Ocean (archived here). The southeast region, meanwhile, has rivers that run into the ocean but no coastal land. However, the Onitsha River Port – while not a seaport – is located in Anambra state in southeast Nigeria. The river port has reported receiving barges and containers in recent years (archived here and here). There is also an inland dry port under construction in Aba, Abia state (archived here). Inclusion in agencies The claim that there is no one from the southeast region in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Customs Service is misleading. Although the heads of these agencies are not from the southeast, there are other people from the southeast in top positions at these agencies, including the vice president of business services at the NNPCL (archived here). The FIRS Act also mandates that the management team must have a representative from each geopolitical zone, one of which is the southeast (archived here). This rule also applies to the Nigeria Customs Service (archived here). International airport The claim about the absence of an international airport in the southeast is false. The Akanu Ibiam International Airport is located in Enugu (archived here). However, the airports in Lagos and Abuja enjoy more passenger traffic (archived here). Railways The claim that there are no rail lines in the southeast region is false. In November 2024, the government completed and handed over the Port Harcourt-Aba Railway to the Nigeria Railway Corporation to start operations (archived here). In December 2024, the NRC said the trains transport between 500 and 900 passengers per trip (archived here). Military checkpoints The claim that military checkpoints are common in the southeast is true. Due to insecurity (archived here), Mohammed Abubakar, the minister of defence, last year pledged to ramp up security measures in the region with the stated aim of ensuring stability for businesses (archived here). Military checkpoints are also common in the northern region due to efforts to flush out armed groups like Boko Haram and conflicts between Fulani herders and farmers that have resulted in significant casualties (archived here).
BBC News
29-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
WAEC explain why students write exam for night, toI sorry as parents react
Parents of students wey write di English Language paper 2 essay exam for di ongoing West Africa Examination Council WAEC examination late into di night on Wednesday 28 May, 2025 say dem no happy with dis development. Some of di ones wey tok to BBC Pidgin say dem dey sad say di children suffer like dat to write exam of an important paper like English language so late at night, for exam dem suppose don finish since afternoon. Joshua Rogers wey im daughter dey write di WAEC exam tell BBC Pidgin say na around 9:00pm late Wednesday night, e go pick her after she finish her paper. E say she tell am say na since 2pm in di afternoon dem finish di first paper wey be English Languahe paper 1 objective and dem come dey wait for di second paper but e no come till around 5:00pm in di evening. 'Di school wia she dey write di exam also try to give us parents information say dem dey wait for dI second paper but wen night reach na im me and my wife go her school go wait for her to finish so we go bring her back. No be good experience for a young pesin like dat. E dey too stressful," e tok. Rogers add say coming from di drama around di just concluded JAMB exams wey make di authorities organise anoda exam for some candidates to rewrite di exams, e feel say dis incident fit negatively affect di performance of di students for di exams as many of dem write di exam with tension so dem fit write am quick-quick so dem go go house as night don fall. "I get serious concern for di performance of di students for dis particular exams becos dem write am under tension, especially as you know say English paper na compulsory subject. You can imagine di stress wey students dey go through for exam time, kon be di one wey dem get to wait a very long time, way into di night. So some of dem write quick quick so dem fit go house and e fit affect dia results at di end." E also express concern for di safety of di children especially for di ones wey live very far from school. "E get one boy wey me and my wife get to carry go house becos e dey live very far from di school. My daughter school dey Ozuoba and dis boy dey live for Port Harcourt airport side, so you can imagine di distance, and e bin dey fear to go house by dat time of di night becos of how di area be. Thank God say e speak out. Wat of di children wey no get anybody to help dem and dem must go house dat late in di night? Goment must chook eye and ask question why dis one happen and take steps make e no happen again." 'Our students finish di exams 1:00am dis morning' For students wey write di WAEC exam for some of di riverine communities for Rivers State, di exam papers get to dem by 10:00pm. Andrew Peter wey im pikin write di WAEC exam for Community Secondary School CSS Ebukuma, Andoni LGA, say di exam paper reach dem by 10:00pm and di students finish di exams by 1:00am early morning of Thursday 29 May, 2025. "We really no know wetin happen. Na WAEC go explain but di exam paper reach here by 10pm last night. We get to go buy candles for di students to take write di exam becos for di whole of Ebukuma community, we no get light. Na around 1:00am dis morning na im dem finish di exam and dem get to come back again dis morning to write anoda paper. So e dey stressful for di students. Dem no suppose suffer like dat." E tok. WAEC explain why di English language paper 2 essay exam happen like dat Di West African Examinations Council (WAEC) for statement don apologise to students for di delay in di exams. Dem acknowledge say dem get some challenges during di conduct of WASSCE for School Candidate, 2025 wey include delay in di timely conduct of English Language Paper 2 dem write on Wednesday 28 May, 2025. For statement wey Moyosola Adesina, Acting Head of Public Affairs WAEC sign, dem say while dem maintain di integrity and security of di examination, dem face some challenges primarily due to dia major aim of preventing leakage of any paper. 'While we successfully achieve our objective, e impact di timeliness and seamless conduct of di examination. Despite our best efforts, we encounter logistical hurdles, security concerns and sociocultural factors wey negatively influence our operations.' In order to forestall future occurrences of dis nature, di Council say dem currently dey collaborate with security agencies as dem recognise di importance of timely conduct of examinations and di impact of dis decision on di candidates, dia schools and parents, and dem sincerely apologise for any inconvenience wey e cause.
