The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has advised the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) to direct their concerns about the non-mobilisation of some Higher National Diploma (HND) holders for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to the appropriate authorities. JAMB’s Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, clarified that the Board is not responsible for the admission of HND students, nor does it have any role in their mobilisation for the NYSC.
This clarification comes after the student body mistakenly accused JAMB of being responsible for the non-mobilisation of some of its members into the NYSC. Professor Oloyede explained that the Board’s mandate is limited to conducting examinations for admission into universities, National Diploma (ND), and National Certificate in Education (NCE) programmes, and does not extend to HND admissions, which are handled by individual polytechnics.
“Do not waste your time directing your anger to the wrong place or somebody who does not know the problem exists. If something affects you, the first step is to identify the root cause so that you don’t apply the wrong solution to a problem that does not exist,” Professor Oloyede stated.
“We admit students for ND programmes. Once you graduate and seek HND admission, JAMB has no further role. HND admissions are conducted by individual institutions,” he said.
He also expressed concerns about the proliferation of daily part-time programmes in polytechnics, describing them as schemes designed to exploit students. Additionally, he pointed out that some institutions admit more students than the capacity specified by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), leading to issues with NYSC mobilisation.
Professor Oloyede encouraged NAPS to thoroughly investigate the root causes of the problem and work towards finding appropriate solutions. He also addressed allegations of extortion by JAMB officials in the South-South zone, revealing that the Board had received an anonymous petition and had dispatched a team to investigate. He urged students with evidence of extortion related to “regularisation” to come forward, promising that any staff found guilty would be held accountable.
He further mentioned that JAMB is developing strategies to limit physical interactions between the Board and complainants, focusing on online services with recorded calls for effective monitoring.
NAPS leadership, led by National President Comrade Ridwan Opeyemi and Senate President Adeniki Temitope, expressed satisfaction with Professor Oloyede’s explanations and committed to engaging the appropriate authorities to resolve the mobilisation issues affecting HND holders.