JAMB Sanctions Officials For Harassing Hijab-wearing UTME Candidate

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) says it has sanctioned some of its accredited officials for asking a hijab-wearing female Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate to remove her headcover before entrance to the exam hall.

This is contained in a statement signed by JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor (PCA), Dr. Fabian Benjamin, on Sunday.

The statement, which was in reaction to publications on some news platforms titled ‘RE: LAGOS CENTRE STOPS HIJAB-WEARING CANDIDATES AS UTME COMMENCES,’ said the incident was instantly resolved with the female candidate being allowed to sit for the UTME with her hijab.

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While saying it has no policy barring candidates from sporting the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their religious persuasions, JAMB said the affected officials acted in ignorance, which is not an excuse before the law.

The Board deeply regretted the incident and, on investigation discovered, that this particular incident or others in the past, is not linked to any of its examination guidelines but rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the Board’s accredited partners or officials, who claimed ignorance of the Board’s guidelines on accreditation.

Jamb therefore, assured the general public that this issue would be properly investigated, as it had done in past incidents, to prevent a recurrence and nothing would be swept under the carpet.

It further expressed the commitment to the discharge of its statutory role of ensuring that suitably-qualified candidates are selected for admission into the nation’s tertiary institutions and would not allow anything or anyone to detract it from the pursuit of this noble goal.

The exam body also revealed that about 1.2 million candidates would have successfully taken the UTME by Monday, April 22, 2024.