The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has directed several tertiary institutions to cancel admissions that violated established selection procedures.

JAMB discovered irregularities where institutions bypassed candidates with better scores in favour of those with lower rankings during the admission process. This practice contradicts Nigeria's tertiary admission regulations.

The Board issued this directive through its weekly bulletin on Monday in Abuja, with the announcement made by Fabian Benjamin, JAMB's Public Communication Adviser.

In its official statement, the Board said, "The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to the conduct of admissions by some tertiary institutions where higher ranked candidates are reportedly being bypassed in favour of lower ranked candidates."

JAMB confirmed it has taken action against the institutions found guilty of these violations.

The bulletin stated, "The Board has cautioned the affected institutions and directed the immediate reversal of such irregular admissions. Notwithstanding these reversals, JAMB reiterates its call on all institutions to strictly adhere to the established guidelines governing the selection and admission of candidates."

The Board explained that Nigerian tertiary admissions follow a three tier system: Merit, Catchment Area, and Educationally Less Developed States. Candidate ranking determines selection at each level.

"Each tier is guided strictly by ranking (Merit), such that candidates with higher rankings must be selected first, followed by others in descending order," the Board stated.

JAMB made its position clear: "Any situation in which a better ranked candidate is skipped for a lower ranked candidate under any of these categories will not be tolerated by the Board."

In a related matter, JAMB addressed allegations from a candidate who claimed the University of Nigeria, Nsukka wrongly denied her admission despite her high scores.

After investigating, the Board found the candidate's claims unfounded. Multiple applicants ranked higher than her in the selection process.

The Board explained, "Consequently, her non admission was in line with due process of her not ranking high enough to be on the selected limit."

Whilst JAMB confirmed it had identified and corrected admission irregularities at some institutions, the complainant's case was not amongst them.

"Whilst the Board observed instances where some better-ranked candidates were indeed skipped and had ordered the reversal of those admissions, the said candidate was not affected by such irregularities," JAMB clarified.

The Board reaffirmed its stance: "JAMB remains resolute in ensuring that no candidate with a higher ranking is displaced by a lower ranked candidate in the admission process."

JAMB cautioned students about spreading unconfirmed information online and encouraged them to use proper channels for complaints.

"The Board therefore advises candidates to refrain from allowing themselves to be used by individuals seeking attention or followership on social media through baseless allegations," the statement read.

"Candidates are urged to verify claims of admission irregularities through appropriate and official channels before lending credence to or promoting such allegations."