JAMB Warns Candidates Against Institutional Change of Course/Programme Scam

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has issued a formal notice alerting candidates about unethical practices by certain universities.

The Problem

These institutions are allegedly using internal portals to persuade highly-ranked candidates on the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS) to switch from their chosen programmes to less-popular ones.

According to JAMB's statement, this manipulation serves a specific purpose: "creating room for the institutions' preferred candidates to move up in the admission ranking order."

The board characterized such conduct as "a clear manipulation of the merit-based process established to ensure transparency and fairness."

JAMB's Official Position

The board emphasized that all legitimate admission activities occur exclusively through CAPS. Any programme changes conducted outside this official channel are unauthorized and unethical.

JAMB stated: "any change of programme eventually effected on CAPS after a candidate has been influenced or persuaded by an institution through its own portal will be deemed voluntary on the part of the candidate."

This disclaimer means candidates cannot later claim they were coerced if changes appear in the official system.

Institutions Involved

Preliminary investigations identified two universities engaged in this practice—one in Nigeria's South-West region and another in Abuja.

Recommended Actions

JAMB advises candidates to:

• Conduct all admission activities strictly through the official CAPS portal
• Disregard any programme-change requests through institutional channels
• Report any suspicious requests to JAMB