Not our fault highest scoring student won’t get admission into UNILAG, JAMB explains

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has said not the board, but management of the University of Lagos is responsible, if highest scoring Ezeunala Franklin, 15, is denied admission in the University.

The board said Franklin who scored 347 in the 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and chose UNILAG as his most preferred institution may be denied by the university’s admission policy which has 16 years as its minimum age for admission.

The board noted in its weekly bulletin release on Sunday, that “It is obvious no nation has enough spaces for every candidate aspiring for tertiary education, hence the need to define parameters to ensure that equity and fairness are engendered in the admission exercise.

“The case in point is the result of the just-concluded 2019 UTME which has thrown up Ezeunala Franklin, as the highest scorer. He had picked the University of Lagos as his first choice. Coincidentally, the University of Lagos admits only candidates who are 16 years and above. This is their rule and it is expected that the candidates and the public abide by it.

Read also: NSCDC arrest 10 in Lagos over alleged abduction, cybercrime

“Universities all over the world define their rules on admissions and other requirements that would enable them give their best to the public. The board should not be blamed for the age stipulation as it stated explicitly in its integrated Brochure and Syllabus System.

“The responsibility of reading the instructions should not be that of the board but of the candidates and the public.

“The board notes with dismay the pressure for it to shift the goalpost in the middle of the game by some sections of the public. It is quite commendable that Franklin emerged the best, but his emergence should not be an excuse to flout the rules as other institutions whose rules differ could give him a place.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now