Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has advised parents and candidates to raise concerns if they are confident in their UTME results but are denied admission into their preferred institutions.
The Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, made this known during an interview on Good Morning Nigeria, a programme on the Nigerian Television Authority.
In a video shared by NTA on Tuesday, he explained that some parents still turn to illegal methods because they have become accustomed to such practices and believe there is no alternative.
He maintained, however, that the admission process is now transparent and structured to ensure fairness.
“People are so daring, and the parents, because they have climbed the ladder to illegality, they believe there is no other way.
“I’ve seen many people who sent their children’s scores to me and asked what they could do. I tell them I will do nothing, and the candidate is admitted—and they thank me. I did nothing,” Prof. Oloyede said.
He highlighted the role of the Central Admission Processing System (CAPS) in promoting openness in the process.
“If you find anybody, if you are sure of yourself, you have a score, and this is the UTME score of my child, and you know that you ought to be admitted and you are not admitted, protest to us because CAPS has made everything easy,” he said.
Oloyede further stated that since the introduction of CAPS in 2017, there have been no reported issues with the system, describing it as efficient and capable of handling admissions without interference.
On direct entry admissions, he noted that stricter verification procedures have been introduced, making it difficult for candidates to present fake credentials.
“Since 2023, annually, the rates had gone down. Many people are no longer applying for direct entry because they know we are supervising thoroughly and every year, this year, we have arrested, we have caught 77, but we did more prevention.
“JUPEB, IJMB and all the rest—we check at the point of entry and we made it impossible for them to forge, but there are still degrees,” he said.
He added that certificates submitted for admission are now cross-checked with issuing institutions, including foreign universities, to prevent fraud.
“This year, we had about four or five cases where foreign institutions reported that the degree presented was not theirs.
“The answer to your question was that that was possible because at that time, we were not checking the A-level and it’s not part of primarily our duty. That’s why we don’t want to be diverted.
“That’s why we made one of the gurus of the universities to help us not to be diverted and every year,” he said.
