NANS – Jamb should be converted to the Federal Student Financial Assistance Commission.

The National Association of Nigerian Students and a non-
governmental organisation, Alfred Komolafe Educational
Foundation, have asked the Federal Government to convert
the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to the Federal
Student Financial Assistance Commission.
They also demand that universities, polytechnics and
colleges of education should be empowered to carry out
admission processes in their schools fully.
Both organisations made this known at a briefing in Lagos
on Monday.
According to the Executive Director of AKEF, Mr. Alfred
Komolafe, that nation’s universities are conducting post-
University Tertiary Matriculation Examinations portrays that
JAMB is outliving its relevance.
Calling on the National Assembly to amend the JAMB Act of
1978, Komolafe said the resources available to JAMB could
be deployed in providing financial assistance to indigent
students who would in turn pay back after securing
employment.
He said, “A survey carried out by the AKEF revealed that 85
per cent of undergraduates go through severe hardship
before paying school fees and meeting daily necessities. I
am still paying for the student loans, which I took to finance
my studies in America.
“The situation in Nigeria is a contrast to those of other
students around the world, who do not pass through severe
hardship before gaining admission to higher institutions and
have well-established financial assistance for their studies.
“Thousands of students who were not able to survive the
hardship of the admissions process, frustrated by the
ineffective operations of JAMB and an apparent lack of
financial assistance, have long abandoned their quests for
higher education. As a result, Nigeria has lost a large pool of
potentially skilled professionals, such as doctors,
pharmacists, accountants, administrators and other
professionals.”

Tags: NANS