JAMB Registrar Insisted on not being an Examination Body.

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has reiterated that JAMB should not be classified as an examination body, describing it instead as an educational assessment and admission agency whose core function is to facilitate entry into tertiary institutions. Oloyede clarified while speaking at the maiden Rite Foods National Academic Excellence Awards, held at the Civic Centre, Lagos, where seven undergraduates shared N35 million in prizes. He said JAMB's role is frequently misunderstood in Nigeria, where the board is often lumped together with established 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. 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 said. Distinguishing JAMB and genuine examination bodies, Oloyede noted that institutions like WAEC and NECO carry the designation directly in their names, unlike JAMB. "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 said. The JAMB boss also addressed what he described as excessive hype around the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), cautioning that many Nigerians mistakenly view it as the sole determinant of admission. "There is a hype about UTME in Nigeria. People believe it is the golden key to tertiary institutions. It is not so," he said, explaining that admission depends on multiple stages beyond just UTME performance. He warned that celebrating high UTME scores without factoring in broader admission requirements could be misleading, since some high scorers may lack the necessary subject combinations or qualifications needed for their desired course. "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 said. Oloyede described JAMB as functioning like a clearing house that manages a large pool of candidates, designed to ensure fairness and proper placement into tertiary institutions based on merit and eligibility. He said the board would continue to push this framing of itself as an admission-focused agency, stressing that clearer public understanding of its mandate is key to reducing misconceptions surrounding the UTME process.