The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has warned universities and other tertiary institutions in Nigeria against issuing admission letters to candidates, insisting that the responsibility rests exclusively with the examination body.
The Registrar, Prof. Segun Aina, gave the warning while receiving a delegation from Veritas University, Bwari, Abuja, during a courtesy visit to his office.
According to Aina, JAMB is the only body statutorily empowered to issue official admission letters to candidates seeking admission into tertiary institutions across the country, including universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
He expressed concern that candidates often accept admission documents issued directly by institutions as genuine, even when such documents do not meet the official admission requirements.
The registrar consequently urged universities involved in the practice to desist, stressing that institutions have a responsibility to ensure that candidates obtain the appropriate admission documents from JAMB.
He also recalled that the Federal Ministry of Education had directed that all admissions into tertiary institutions must be processed through the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS).
Aina maintained that any admission process conducted outside CAPS is illegal and invalid.
He further explained that institutions are not permitted to replace the official JAMB admission letter with internally issued admission documents after candidates have accepted their offers through CAPS.
The JAMB registrar added that only admissions processed and recognised through CAPS would be accepted for official purposes, including mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
The warning serves as a reminder to prospective university students to verify their admission status on the JAMB CAPS portal and ensure they obtain their official admission letters from the board.
Candidates are also advised to confirm that their admission records are properly reflected on the JAMB platform to avoid complications during registration, clearance and eventual NYSC mobilisation.