The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has reiterated that JAMB is not an examination body but an educational assessment and admission agency whose primary mandate is to facilitate entry into tertiary institutions.
Oloyede made the clarification on Friday while delivering a speech at the maiden edition of the Rite Foods National Academic Excellence Awards held at the Civic Centre, Lagos. At the event, seven outstanding undergraduates were awarded a total of ₦35 million in prizes.
The JAMB chief noted that the board’s role is frequently misunderstood by the Nigerian public, with many erroneously equating it to traditional examination bodies like the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO).
“We conduct exams, but we are not an examination company,” Oloyede stated. “You cannot say the University of Lagos is an examination body because it conducts examinations. The same way, JAMB conducts exams, but JAMB is not an examination body.”
He explained that while conducting examinations remains one of JAMB’s operational tools, the board’s core responsibility is the admission of candidates into tertiary institutions.
“If you want to know what an examination body is, look at WAEC or NECO. Their names clearly show they are examination bodies. JAMB is an educational assessment body, and its goal is admission, not examination,” he added.
Oloyede observed that the intense focus on the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has created misconceptions about the board’s actual function. He described the widespread perception of UTME as the “golden key” to university admission as inaccurate.
“It is not so,” he said, explaining that admission into tertiary institutions involves multiple stages and is not determined by UTME scores alone. Candidates must also meet other specific requirements set by individual institutions, including relevant subject combinations and qualifications.
The JAMB Registrar cautioned against over-celebrating high UTME scores without considering overall eligibility for admission.
“Many people have high scores but do not have the required subject combinations or qualifications for admission. That is why celebrating UTME alone can be misleading,” he warned.
He described JAMB as a clearing house that processes a large number of candidates to ensure fairness and proper placement into tertiary institutions based on merit and institutional requirements.
Oloyede pledged that the board would continue to emphasise its role as an admission-focused agency, stressing that greater public understanding of its mandate is essential to reducing misconceptions surrounding the UTME and the admission process.
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