JAMB Is Not An Exam Body, but an Admission Agency — Oloyede Clarifies Mandate

The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has reiterated that the organisation is not an examination body, but an educational assessment and admissions agency whose primary responsibility is to facilitate entry into tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

Oloyede made the clarification on the sidelines of the maiden Rite Foods National Academic Excellence Awards held at the Civic Centre, Lagos, where seven undergraduate students were awarded a total of ₦35 million in prizes.

He explained that JAMB is often misunderstood by the public, who tend to equate its functions with traditional examination bodies such as 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.

According to him, while the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) is one of JAMB’s operational tools, it is not the organisation’s core mandate. Instead, its central role is managing admissions into tertiary institutions.

“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 added.

Preparing to sit for UTME? Download ExamGuide UTME Practice App from www.examguide.com/offline/products/utme 

Oloyede noted that excessive focus on UTME performance in Nigeria has created misconceptions about how tertiary admissions actually work, stressing that examination scores alone do not guarantee placement.

“There is a hype about UTME in Nigeria. People believe it is the golden key to tertiary institutions. It is not so,” he said.

He explained that admission decisions involve multiple stages, including subject combinations, institutional requirements, and other qualifying criteria beyond UTME scores.

According to him, many candidates who score highly in UTME still fail to gain admission because they do not meet essential programme requirements.

“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.

JAMB as a clearing house for fair admissions

The Registrar further described JAMB as a central clearing house designed to streamline Nigeria’s large pool of tertiary applicants and ensure fair, merit-based placement into institutions.

He stressed that the board’s structure is intended to balance opportunity with institutional requirements, ensuring that candidates are properly matched with available programmes.

Oloyede maintained that continued public misunderstanding of JAMB’s mandate fuels unnecessary pressure on candidates and distorts perception of the admission process.

He reaffirmed that the board would continue to educate the public on its role as an admissions-focused agency rather than a conventional examination body, stressing that clarity on its mandate is essential to improving trust and transparency in Nigeria’s tertiary education system.

Preparing to sit for UTME? Download ExamGuide UTME Practice App from www.examguide.com/offline/products/utme