The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it will support integration of Nigerian students evacuated from crisis-torn Sudan into the nation’s universities.
The registrar of the board, Prof Ishaq Oloyede, stated this during a meeting with the chairman, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, who led some officials of the commission to JAMB headquarters in Abuja.
In a statement issued yesterday, the registrar empathised with the students and commended NiDCOM for the effective handling of their evacuation, adding that JAMB would ensure the desired support.
He urged the students not to tread the path of those who returned to the country over a year ago, following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to him, the students refused to comply with procedures that should have ensured they continued their academic programmes seamlessly.
“If you are doing a five-year programme, you will go to year fours, because you are going to spend year four and year five.
“For instance, if you are studying medicine and you are in your 600 level, and if the Medical and Dental Council assesses what you have done and practical is okay, they will just move you to 500 level. You will do 500 level and 600 level, and you will have the certificate of the institution in Nigeria,” he said.
He added: “What we will do is that we will provide the necessary infrastructure, the necessary enablement to make you accommodate or return these candidates (students) to our educational system.
“There are procedures (for transfer of students); the transcript, the rules and regulations. Nobody should, under any illusion, believe that a Nigerian university will award certificate with less than two years’ stay and residency in the university. The procedure will be done legitimately and properly with the cooperation of the National Universities Commission and the individual institution.
“The guideline from JAMB has already been handed over to the chairperson of the commission.”
Also speaking, Dabiri-Erewa said 1,730 Nigerians had been evacuated from Sudan, as of Tuesday, noting that majority of them are students, eager to continue their education in Nigeria while waiting for the crisis to be over.
She assured that the laid down procedures would be followed towards integrating the affected students.
“The key thing is that there are processes to follow but they are not difficult processes. That is what we learnt from JAMB. The institutions are already saying they want to give support; they want to admit them. But the key thing is to follow the process as stipulated by JAMB. All the information are on our website,” she added.
