2020 UTME: ICPC to prosecute varsities over admission fraud — JAMB

Mariam Sanni, Abuja

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has concluded arrangements with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission to prosecute universities and their officials involved in admission fraud starting from the 2020 exercise.
The board noted that the admission frauds observed in 2019 ranged from “non-compliance with the Central Admission Processing System, skipping high-scoring candidates on the merit list without any justification to substituting them with low-scoring candidates.”
The board, in its weekly bulletin, obtained by our correspondent on Monday, quoted its Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, as stating these at a meeting with some selected tertiary institutions at JAMB headquarters in Abuja.
The bulletin read in part, “Determined to prevent admission infractions in the 2020 admission exercise, as well as to ensure fairness in the conduct of admission, JAMB has concluded arrangements to link its CAPS with the ICPC.
“The registrar noted that some institutions had continued to flagrantly abuse the automated platform, committing infractions such as total jettisoning of CAPS, coercing high-scoring candidates to opt for other programmes and offline admission.
“Other unwholesome acts noticed in the 2019 admission included skipping high-scoring candidates on the merit list without any justification and substituting them with low-scoring candidates, among other infractions.
“The registrar said these acts are criminal, wicked and acceptable. Hence, those found aiding and abetting admission irregularities would be liable for prosecution by the anti-graft agency.”
Oloyede warned the defaulting institutions that “the ICPC’s sledgehammer would fall on any institution or official that circumvents the guidelines governing admissions and the CAPS platform put in place to guarantee a seamless admission exercise.”
He said, “There should be no debate about merit. Merit is merit and it is not negotiable. High-scoring candidates should be admitted first.”