In a recent development, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the details of its plan to integrate returnee students from war-torn countries into Nigerian universities.
The modalities were presented by JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, during a virtual meeting with Vice Chancellors of Nigerian universities and other key stakeholders.
To ensure a comprehensive approach, the Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), National Universities Commission (NUC), and other critical stakeholders were involved in high-level discussions on the integration process.
During the meeting, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede emphasised the importance of engaging with Vice Chancellors individually due to the unique characteristics of each university and the varying responses received from them regarding the absorption of returnee students.
The objective of the emergency meeting was to establish consistent standards and minimum benchmarks in accordance with global best practices.
The Registrar clarified that university Senates possess the authority to make decisions regarding university transfers and need not await JAMB's initiation. The purpose of the stakeholders' parley was to present the modalities for scrutiny and gather valuable inputs.
Prof. Is-haq Oloyede also urged Vice Chancellors to adhere to the previous Advisory issued to universities regarding the procedures for processing applications for foreign and domestic inter-university transfers.
He emphasised that the current Advisory for returnees does not supersede the earlier one but rather reinforces it by strengthening the transfer procedures.