JAMB Warns Institutions Over Matriculation List Breaches, Grants Grace Period After Apologies

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a stern warning to several tertiary institutions for breaching admission guidelines by failing to upload their matriculation lists, a critical requirement for validating student admissions.

In its weekly bulletin released on Monday, JAMB revealed that the defaulting institutions had tendered apologies for the oversight and pledged to rectify the issue within seven days. However, the Board did not disclose the names of the institutions involved.

“They pleaded for leniency and promised to rectify the violations by submitting the outstanding lists within seven days,” the statement read.

During a recent meeting in Abuja with the heads of some of the affected institutions, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, described the failure as “an aberration.” He noted that although the institutions had admitted students through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), they neglected to finalize the admissions by uploading the matriculation lists.

“You conducted admissions on CAPS, but you did not matriculate any student. We feel that before we forward the report to the government, we should interact with you,” Oloyede stated.

He emphasized that matriculation is a statutory obligation, citing Section 23(7) of JAMB’s admission guidelines, which mandates institutions to upload matriculation lists for official vetting. Based on this vetting, institutions receive full approval, conditional approval, or outright denial to hold matriculation ceremonies.

The Registrar further warned that any student not listed on the official National Matriculation List would not be recognized as legitimately admitted. “No such illegal admission will be condoned,” he added.

While reiterating the importance of compliance, JAMB acknowledged the institutions’ apologies and assured that students would not be unfairly penalized for institutional lapses. The Board also directed that all affected institutions must:

• Submit formal letters of apology via CAPS within 24 hours,
• Upload all pending matriculation lists by August 25,
• Ensure that affiliate institutions operate only under the oversight of their parent institutions, with designated supervisors to ensure compliance.

JAMB concluded by urging all institutions to uphold admission standards to safeguard the integrity of the higher education system.