The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu has directed all tertiary institutions to stop Post Unified Tertiary Matriculation examination or test, saying that the ban is with immediate effect.

The minister who made this position known on Monday in a press statement issued by Deputy Director Press and Public Relations, Ben Bem Goong said, “the ban is with immediate effect, and under no circumstance should any institution violate the directive.”

He noted that the emphasis has become necessary in order to ensure that no stakeholder is left in doubt as to government’s position on the matter.

The minister stressed that once the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has certified a candidate worthy of admission into any of the tertiary institutions, that candidate must be deemed fit by the institution.

He said, “For the avoidance of doubt, any educational institution after secondary education is regarded as a tertiary institution. Therefore all tertiary institutions, polytechnics, Colleges of Education, universities or by whatever name it is called after secondary education must be subjected to admission through the JAMB.

On screening, he said: “Clearing in this case (screening) entails only the verification of certificates of the candidates, JAMB scores, and any other physical examination to ensure that such candidates are not cultists. After this, the candidates are qualified for matriculation.

“Such screening should be at no cost to the parents or students and should be done upon resumption in order to avoid unnecessary travels in search of admission,” he added.

He added that mere admission into the university does not guarantee any student the award of a degree until such a student successfully goes through a minimum of eight examinations (for 4-year courses) or ten and twelve examinations (for 5 and 6 year courses), among other requirements.

The candidates can be screened by verifying their certificates but not through the conduct of examinations.

The minister, therefore, directed the National Universities Commission (NUC) and appropriate departments in the Ministry to communicate the directive to relevant agencies and institutions to ensure strict compliance.