The National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) are to embark on a monitoring visit to state-owned universities to ensure compliance with admission regulations.
Prof. Julius Okojie, the Executive Secretary of the commission, who announced this on Wednesday at a meeting of stakeholders in Abuja, said that all was set to carry out the visit.
“The visit is to assess the level of compliance with NUC’s approved admission quota and qualification of new entrants into the universities, among other tasks,’’ he said.
Okojie said the two organisations had distinct roles in the running of the Nigerian University system.
He said the visit would address the issue of enrolment, which had led to overstretching of facilities, adding that the NUC had introduced an admission quota appropriate for each university based on its carrying capacity.
“In spite of the guidelines, many universities still exceed the approved quota, thereby impeding the delivery of quality education in the Nigeria University system.’’
The executive secretary also noted that some candidates were admitted without meeting the requirements, while some state universities violate the operational guidelines and procedures on the system.
He said the NUC and JAMB had a very rigorous task to perform and would not relent in their efforts at stemming anomalies in the system.
Okojie, therefore, urged the officials to exhibit a high sense of responsibility in the course of the assignment.
Mrs Hansatu Abechi, the Acting Director, Inspection and Monitoring in NUC, said one of the objectives of the visit was to ascertain that all students were admitted through JAMB.
“The visit is also to determine the number of students admitted and how many matriculated as well as determine other channels, like from foundation, preliminary and remedial, for admitting students.
“We are expected to develop a data base on new entrants into the universities by session and also assess the standard of facilities in the universities,’’ she added.
Abechi said that a data capturing instrument designed by her department, which would be used for the exercise, had already been dispatched to the affected universities. (NAN)