The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has withdrawn the special concession previously granted to candidates with albinism, citing widespread abuse of the privilege and its use to facilitate examination malpractice. The decision was announced by the Registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, during a meeting with Commissioners for Education in Lagos.
Oloyede said the concession was scrapped after the board discovered that some individuals exploited it, including the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate the registration process. He disclosed that more than 7,000 candidates claimed to be persons with albinism in the previous year alone, a figure JAMB considered suspicious.
The registrar reiterated the board’s zero-tolerance stance on malpractice and warned that candidates who fail to declare previous registration or admission records would face sanctions. He also urged faith-based institutions to clearly state their religious status from the outset, rather than presenting themselves as secular and later imposing religious rules on students.
On admissions policy, Oloyede restated that candidates must be at least 16 years old by September 30, 2026, to be eligible for admission, adding that underage applicants would face stricter evaluations. He also outlined federal admission quotas and encouraged states to reserve a minimum of 10 per cent for merit-based admissions to promote diversity.