A bill seeking to make Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) results valid for four years has passed the second reading in the House of Representatives.

The amendment of the JAMB Act, sponsored by Tolulope Sadipe (APC-Oyo), was read at the plenary on Thursday.

Leading the debate, Ms Sadipe said many students sit for JAMB examinations, come up with good grades, but for one reason or the other, they end up not being offered admission, for no fault of theirs.

“When you look at the number of students that apply for university admissions every year and the number that eventually get in, it is definitely not their fault, so why should they be penalised?

“Everywhere in the world, there is no such exam that is valid for one year; Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) is valid forever.

“I think this is totally unfair, there are a lot of children in this country whose parents are struggling to put them through school,” she said.

However, Nkem Abonta (PDP-Abia) argued that extending the validity of JAMB results would defeat the aim of the entry exams.

He said that the JAMB Act sought to regulate the mode of entry into Nigerian universities, saying that making the result valid for two to three years would cause more problems.

Chinyere Igwe (PDP-Rivers) argued that there was a difference between an entry and a terminal examination.

The lawmaker said the foreign exams mentioned by the bill’s sponsor are terminal examinations and not entry examinations like JAMB.

She said making the result valid for two years would reduce the standard of education in the country.

Toby Okechukwu (PDP-Enugu) urged the house not to “throw the baby and bathwater away”.

According to him, students and their parents and sponsors had not only been suffering “double jeopardy but several jeopardies”.

In his remarks, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Wase referred the bill to the relevant committees of the house for further legislative actions. 

(NAN)