The House of Representatives will investigate the alleged imposition of multiple processing and administration fees by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and its accredited agents on candidates.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Sergius Ogun (PDP-Edo) in Wednesday’s plenary in Abuja.
In his motion, Mr. Ogun said that section 88 (1) and (2) of the constitution empowers the National Assembly to conduct investigations into the activities of any authority executing or administering laws.
He said that JAMB was established to control the taking of matriculation exams for candidates seeking admission to universities, polytechnics and colleges of education in Nigeria.
He added that in recent times, in addition to exam registration fees, all kinds of administrative and processing fees have been levied on JAMB exam candidates.
He noted that for all other services, in addition to the JAMB registration provided in connection with the exam, JAMB imposes an administrative fee.
Mr. Ogun added that this does not include the Computer-Based Testing (CTB) Center Service Fee charged by JAMB-accredited CBT Centers.
He listed some of the charges to include: Transfer request N7,000, change of admission letter with registration number N5,000, and data correction request N2,500.
According to him, other charges include: Printing JAMB Proof of Results N1,000, Printing JAMB Admission Letter N1,000, Changing Institution/Course N2,500, and Recovering JAMB Registration Number N1,000.
He said that by virtue of its establishment, JAMB remains a testing body and not primarily a revenue-generating body of the Federal Government.
Mr. Ogun said that JAMB candidates who did not have the privilege of paying the fees suffered undue hardship and ultimately were unable to take the exam.
The lawmaker said most candidates live in towns that often do not have accredited CBT centers and as such would have to travel long distances.
He said that because of this, they often incur additional transportation costs to register for the exam or carry out a JAMB-related service that is offered only at a CBT Center.
Therefore, the House directed the Committee on Education and Tertiary Services to investigate the multiple administrative and processing costs of JAMB.
The House asked the committee to report within four weeks for further legislative action.
(YAYA)