UTME: Senate will protect candidates, parents – Saraki

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki,  on Wednesday pledged that the upper chamber would protect Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination candidates and their parents from exploitation.
Saraki, who said he was joyful that the bill to amend the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board Act passed second reading, said the Senate would ensure that candidates’ results remain valid for three years.
He said thus would ensure that they don’t have to purchase fresh firms every year if they are denied admission.
“It gives me great joy to announce that today at the Senate, we passed for Second Reading a Bill to amend the #JAMBBill. When finally amended, this piece of legislation will ensure that the JAMB results of students will be valid for up to 3 years — as opposed to the current one-year validity period.
“The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has been saddled with the responsibility of ushering in young school leavers into tertiary institutions for many years.
“However, due to several factors, hundreds of thousands of candidates that sit JAMB exams and do not secure their admission into higher institutions in the same year have to sit for the same exam the next year. This is unacceptable.
“It is our hope at the 8th Senate that this amendment will go a long way in reducing the financial constraints on parents, and the psychological burdens on students who have secured pass marks but are unable to gain admission in the same year,” he stated.