The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has taken up the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, over his comments on the admission process into universities in Nigeria.
The position of the Board was contained in a statement by its spokesman, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, in Abuja on Sunday.
The Board said contrary to the position of Osodeke, it does not conduct admissions for universities and other tertiary institutions.
The statement said: “The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been drawn to the ill-informed statement made by the rattled President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke.
“The ASUU president had made this unfortunate blunder in his laborious effort to curry favour with the public when he unimaginatively said, ‘…admissions are being done by JAMB and sent to you …Vice-Chancellors don’t know how the admissions are done.’
“It is highly reprehensible for an academic, albeit a researcher of such high standing, not to have the slightest idea of how candidates are admitted or to be ill-prepared for such a public forum. It is thus obvious that the problem bedevilling the educational sector is actually deeper than we had imagined.
“We challenge the professor to present one vice-chancellor of university, rector of polytechnic or provost of any college of education with even one candidate that has not been recommended by the institution but admitted in the last five years.
“The board promises the professor one million naira if he can substantiate his falsehood with even one proof.”