The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Tuesday raised concerns about tertiary institutions awarding fake certificates to persons who did not deserve them.
The organisation also accused some of the institutions of conniving with some persons to destroy the education sector.
The Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, stated these at the 2021 Batch B pre-mobilisation workshop organised by the National Youth Service Corps with the theme, ‘Sustainable Mobilisation Process: The role of stakeholders,’ and attended by representatives of tertiary institutions.
At the event, the Director-General of the NYSC, Brig. Gen. Shuaibu Ibrahim, said the management would apply sanctions on erring institutions and officials who attempted to compromise the mobilisation process.
On his part, Oloyede, said, “There are many ways that corps members and their collaborators take towards corrupting the system. The more you stay long in this system, the more shocked you are likely to become.
“Many institutions still engage in mobilising or awarding certificates to people who didn’t attend their institutions. You are in a position to know because you run the Interim Joint Matriculation Board and others. How many of these students are actually your students? Go on the streets of Nigeria, you will see IJMB coaching. These candidates are not supposed to be attending roadside coaching. They are supposed to be in your institution.
“Even yesterday (Monday), I got some information that I became dumbfounded, almost losing hope that there is nothing we can do. One gentleman came to me. He said, ‘all this authentication that you are doing, you are just speaking English. People who are making cool money are making it and they are destroying the education system.’ I asked him to give me an example. And he told me that there is what they call Familiar Name, that all you need to do is to walk to a corrupt officer in any of our examination bodies and when you go there, you say a familiar name.
“If your name is John Bello, they will tell them (exam officer) and they will look for a John Bello who has written their examination before and simply give a copy of the certificate to you and you will take it, and when you write to that examination body giving that photocopy, they will take it and say it is authentic. Whereas it is in the wrong man’s hand.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Alhaji Muhammad Bello, represented at the workshop by the Secretary, Development Secretariat, Dr Kelvin Ogbonna, pledged support for the NYSC in its efforts towards preventing unqualified graduates into the mobilisation process.
