From our Correspondent
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has sanctioned some of its accredited officials for demanding that a candidate, at Saturday’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination should remove her hijab (headgear) before writing the examination.
JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, Dr Fabian Benjamin, announced this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Benjamin stated that the incident happened at one of the examination centres in Lagos.
“The officials insisted removal of hijab by the candidate was a prerequisite for her gaining entrance into the examination hall.
“The Board deeply regrets the incident. Upon investigation, JAMB discovered that the incident has no link to its examination guidelines.
“It was rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the Board’s guidelines on accreditation.
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“The guidelines ensure that all candidates are screened. It allows only female officials to screen female candidates before entering the hall.
“A senior official of the Board at the centre instantly addressed the situation. And the official allowed the candidate in question in, after the usual checks with her hijab.
“Since ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the Board has sanctioned the officials. This is to serve as a deterrent to others,” the statement read in part.
Benjamin noted that the erring officials acted in ignorance as JAMB had no policy barring candidates from wearing the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their faith.
TheNewsZenith quoted the Advisor as stating that about 1.2 million candidates would have successfully taken the examination by Monday, April 22.
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