The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has introduced measures for incorporating students who have returned from crisis-affected countries into Nigerian universities. These measures were developed after a high-level meeting involving the Federal Ministry of Education (FME), the Federal Ministry of Health, JAMB, the Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), the National Universities Commission (NUC), and other important stakeholders.
The objective of the meeting was to discuss the integration of Nigerian students who have come back from countries facing conflicts into the nation’s higher education system.
During a virtual meeting with Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities and other stakeholders on June 7th, 2023, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, presented the measures and emphasised the importance of engaging with the Vice Chancellors due to the unique characteristics of each university and the varying responses received regarding the matter. The Registrar highlighted that the emergency meeting aimed to establish consistent standards and minimum benchmarks for the proposed incorporation, in line with global best practices.
Furthermore, the Registrar stated that each university’s Senate holds the authority to decide on university transfers and need not wait for JAMB to initiate such transfers. The meeting with the stakeholders aimed to present the measures for review and gather feedback.
Regarding the application process, the Registrar reminded the Vice Chancellors to follow the previously issued advisory on procedures for processing applications for both foreign and domestic inter-university transfers. He clarified that the new advisory for returnees does not replace the earlier one, but rather reinforces it by strengthening the transfer procedures.
During the meeting, representatives from the FME, NUC, NiDCOM, and Vice Chancellors expressed their support for JAMB’s position and pledged to assist the initiative. Goodwill messages were conveyed, affirming alignment with JAMB’s approach.
As per the latest advisory on emergency transfers for returning students, the students must complete a retrospective registration with the FME. They are required to visit the returnee application page on IBASS, accessible from the JAMB website. On this page, the returnee students will upload their registration slips and provide personal data such as name, NIN (National Identification Number), telephone number, active email account, current university, country, city of study, program, year, and current level of study.
Under the new procedures, the returnee students will select their preferred university, program, and upload scanned copies of their current university admission letter, transcript, data page of their international passport, and a sworn affidavit affirming the authenticity of the uploaded documents.
Once the returnee students click “SUBMIT,” their application will be forwarded to their chosen university, which will receive a notification and an IBASS mail regarding the evaluation of the returnee’s credentials. If the student is deemed eligible for admission, they will receive a notification regarding the status of their admission.
Subsequently, successful returnee students will be directed via email and SMS to personally visit any JAMB Office to complete the inter-university transfer application. The Registrar urged the Vice Chancellors to exercise vigilance and carefully scrutinize the certificates submitted to their institutions to prevent any compromise to their reputation.
