Bill to make JAMB result valid for 4 years passes 2nd reading

A Bill seeking to extend the validity of JAMB result has passed second reading in the House of Representatives. The bill which was proposed by Rep. Tolulope Sadipe (APC-Oyo), wants the JAMB result to be valid for a period of 4 years .

In her submission, she stated that students are made to take the JAMB exam every year and many of the students for no fault of their end up not getting admission into the tertiary institutions in the country. The students are then made to take the same exam the following year subjecting their parents to unnecessary financial burdens.

She noted that almost every where in the world, external exams are valid for more than a year. The Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for instance, is valid forever. But here in Nigeria, JAMB is valid for only one entry, and if you do not get it, you are made to repeat it.

Rep. Toby Okechukwu (PDP-Enugu) also spoke in support of the bill stating that students and their parents/sponsors had not only been suffering “double jeopardy, but several jeopardy”. He stressed that many students had continued to take JAMB with good results but had not been able to go to school for over five year and this had often led to such students dropping out of school.

However, Rep. Nkem Abonta (PDP-Abia), while speaking stated that the idea of extending the validity of JAMB result would defeat the aim of the entry exams and cause more problem.

Similarly, Rep. Chinyere Igwe (PDP-Rivers) in her submission, stated that there was a difference between an entry examination and a terminal examination. According to her, JAMB is an entry exam and not a terminal exam unlike exams like the SAT. She added that extending the validity of the result will reduce the standard of education in the country. At the end, the Deputy Speaker, Rep. Ahmed Wase, referred the bill to the relevant committees of the house, for further legislative actions.