- The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has reacted to the harassment experienced by a female Hijab-wearing UTME candidate
- The JAMB Head of Public Affairs, Dr Fabian Benjamin said some officials have been sanctioned over the harassment incident
- Benjamin said JAMB has no policy barring UTME candidates from sporting dresses peculiar to their religious persuasions
Ejigbo, Lagos state - The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has sanctioned some officials over the harassment of a female Hijab-wearing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate.
The incident happened at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop in the Ejigbo area of Lagos state.
The Head of Public Affairs of the Board, Dr Fabian Benjamin, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, April 21.
Why UTME candidate was asked to remove the Hijab
As reported by The Punch, the female candidate was allegedly asked to remove her headcover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall.
Benjamin said the incident is a product of the misplaced priority of some of JAMB’s accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the Board’s guidelines on accreditation.
How Hijab-wearing candidate was accredited
He said the Board deeply regretted the incident, according to the Guardian.
According to the statement, the female candidate was later allowed in after the usual checks with her hijab after the issue was addressed by a senior JAMB official.
JAMB sanctions officials over harassment of Hijab-wearing candidate
“However, since ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the officials have been appropriately sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others, who might wish to toe the same line going forward.
“It is worthy of note that the Board, as a national institution, has no policy barring candidates from sporting the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their religious persuasions as these are the facts of everyday life in Nigeria, which everyone should have been familiar with by now.”
UTME candidates with glitches will be rescheduled
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that JAMB said candidates who encountered glitches during the ongoing 2024 UTME will be rescheduled.
The JAMB registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede said the technical issues are due to the level of development in different parts of the country.
He appealed to candidates not to disrupt others from writing if they experience any technical issues during the exam as they would be rescheduled to write the exam.
.. Source: Legit.ng
