As ardent readers of the PUNCH newspaper, we noticed a publication on the Readers’ Text Messages column on page 26 of the PUNCH of Monday, March 21, 2022, where one Babalola Toheeb Ademola unjustifiably and irresponsibly made some allegations against the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and its functionaries.
In the said publication, Mr Ademola made some very fraudulent claims, which are laced with insults and pejorative words. These claims include: “I sat for JAMB in 2017 but I wasn’t given admission to my desired course, Mass Communication. Fortunately for me, I applied for ‘DAILY PART TIME’ Programme, which was equivalent to a full time programme at the Polytechnic, Ibadan to study Mass Communication.”
The Board immediately ordered inquiries into the matter and had asked The Polytechnic, Ibadan, to investigate the circumstances of Mr Ademola’s studentship, particularly his claim to have been admitted to a programme unknown to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board and about which the National Board for Technical Education has not notified the Board.
Based on preliminary investigations, it was discovered that Mr Ademola had infringed on many rules guiding the process and sanctity of securing admissions into tertiary institutions in the country. A ‘daily part-time programme’ which Mr Ademola had claimed is equivalent to a full time programme is one of the fallacies that he was parading as the basis for denigrating the Board.
The candidate never applied to study Mass Communication at the Polytechnic, Ibadan, rather he applied in 2017 to study law at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State. He chose Mass Communication at Federal Polytechnic, Ofa as his second choice.
Due to observed discrepancies in his academic claims, the university of his 1st choice, his 2nd and 3rd choices could not consider him for any admission.
Having failed to secure admission with the false academic claims, the candidate in July 2021, without disclosing his original UTME registration in 2017, applied for the regularisation of his alleged part time programme of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, where he claimed to have graduated in 2019. Up till now, The Polytechnic, Ibadan is yet to recommend him to JAMB for the part time admission he purported to have secured in 2017 and have graduated within two years in a programme whose duration is for a minimum of three years.
Mr Ademola in his application to JAMB in July 2021 claims that he hailed from Ibadan North-West Local Government Area of Oyo State, a claim that is contrary to what he had stated in his Direct Entry application documents where he claimed to have been an indigene of Illa Local Government Area of Osun State.
In the meantime, the candidate was blissfully unaware that his shenanigans and inconsistencies are not only being closely monitored but documented by the Board.
At the end of an ongoing full inquiry into the matter, the Board would publish the full report of its investigation including the role, if any, of The Polytechnic, Ibadan.
The Board has also written a letter to NBTE on the strange ‘Daily Part-Time Programme.’
The Board assures the general public of its determination to play its role as a regulator by ensuring that only those candidates (and institutions), who adhere to extant guidelines by providing only true and verifiable data, are accommodated.
In the same vein, tertiary institutions are advised to admit their intakes in line with the specifications of their respective regulatory agencies.
- Dr Fabian Benjamin is the Head of Media, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board
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