By Jude Atupulazi
Former Anambra State Governor and Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 General Elections, Mr Peter Obi, has appealed to Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to be compassionate with candidates seeking admission. Obi made this appeal after a recent stopover in Amawbia, Anambra State, where he encountered a large crowd of students struggling to access basic services at the JAMB office.
According to him, many of the students were there to process changes to their course and institution choices—services that are typically handled at JAMB-designated CBT centres.
However, he was disheartened to learn that most of the CBT centres had stopped offering the service. Further findings revealed that out of 28 accredited CBT centres in Anambra State, 17 had been blacklisted, with many reportedly not informed of the specific reasons, except that they were “under investigation.”
‘The consequences are far-reaching. Students are now forced to travel long distances from remote parts of the state, with some making up to five unsuccessful trips to the JAMB office,’ Obi said, while decrying what he described as the sharp increase in service costs.
He said that a process that normally cost N1, 500 now attracted fees of up to N15, 000 at the state office; some of which, he said, were unofficial.
He warned that many students risked missing admission opportunities, as several universities had already begun their post-UTME screenings.
‘This is a time of economic hardship, growing insecurity, and massive youth unemployment. We should not compound the challenges our young people already face,’ he said.
While acknowledging that JAMB may have legitimate reasons for blacklisting certain centres, Obi urged the board to adopt a more compassionate and transparent process, like allowing affected centres to resume operations under strict supervision while investigations continued.
“Education remains the hope of our nation. Bureaucratic bottlenecks must not derail the aspirations of our youths,” he concluded.
