A serious allegation of fraudulent admissions has emerged against the University of Calabar and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). Mr. Godwin Nsan, a concerned parent from Calabar, has accused the university’s admissions office of colluding with some JAMB officials to admit unqualified students into various departments for the 2024/2025 academic session.
In a letter addressed to the Registrar of JAMB and copied to other key education stakeholders, including the Minister of Education and the Cross River State Government, Mr. Nsan highlighted the alleged misconduct. He claimed that parents of unqualified candidates paid between ₦250,000 and ₦1,000,000 to secure admissions into highly competitive programs such as Medicine and Surgery, Radiography, and Computer Science.
The letter described how students with higher scores were denied admission while candidates with significantly lower grades were admitted. Mr. Nsan decried this as a violation of JAMB’s stated policy of prioritizing merit in admissions.
He also raised concerns about a pattern of ethnic bias in the admissions process, alleging that most beneficiaries were from the South-Eastern part of Nigeria and the Central region of Cross River State.
Mr. Nsan narrated his son’s ordeal, revealing that despite scoring above the cutoff mark and having complete NECO results, his son was denied admission into the Theatre Arts Department. According to him, monetary demands were made for his son’s admission, which he refused to meet.
“This system is failing our children,” Mr. Nsan lamented, adding that his son now faces another year at home, with financial pressures mounting on the family.
The aggrieved parent called for an immediate review of the 2024/2025 admissions list and demanded that JAMB publish the results and admission lists for public scrutiny. He further urged the Federal and State Governments to establish investigative panels to probe the alleged fraud.
Mr. Nsan also advocated for the suspension of all officials involved in the admissions process, including the University of Calabar Admissions Officer and the JAMB Manager in charge of Cross River State.
In his appeal, Mr. Nsan called on the Senate Committee on Education, the House of Representatives, the Cross River State House of Assembly, and Governor Apostle Prince Bassey Edet Otu to address the issue urgently.
“This fraudulent practice will destroy the future of our already struggling education system. A stitch in time saves nine,” he concluded.
Efforts to reach the University of Calabar and JAMB for comments were unsuccessful as of press time.
However, this unfolding scandal underscores the urgent need for transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s admission processes.
