Senate Mulls Amendment of JAMB Act

The Senate Committee on Basic Education has said that it would pursue the amendment of the law that established the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, (JAMB) to limit the age of candidates writing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), to 16 years and above.

The Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, gave the indication during the committee’s oversight visit to the JAMB when he said that the committee had identified two major areas that would be addressed in the proposed amendment to enable the exam body to function better.

The committee also noted that candidates below the age of 18 should not be admitted into the university because age has a lot to do with learning ability.

Eyakenyi said: “Our own work is that of making laws, to legislate. We have identified two major areas that we need to go into the process of amending the act establishing the JAMB. That’s the area of support we will give.

“Other than that, we also intend to pass on what we have seen today to the appropriate MDAs and the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure the support that the JAMB needs is given to it.”

The senator stressed the importance of education to the development and future of Nigeria and stated that the sector deserved maximum attention.