FULL LIST of Nigerian universities announced winners at JAMB's prize-giving event

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering education in Nigeria and worldwide.

Maitama, Abuja - The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said it has given out the sum of N1.875 billion to winning tertiary institutions in the country since its inception in 2018.

The National Tertiary Admissions Performance Merit Award (NATAP-M), which was initiated in 2018 by the Professor Is-haq Oloyede-led administration was to recognise tertiary institutions complying with admission guidelines as well as spur healthy competition among the institutions.

The maiden edition of the awards for 2018, which was held in 2019, featured five categories, namely: the most subscribed institutions by candidates, the most national institution in terms of admission spread and the institution with the highest number of admissions of international students.

Per JAMB’s latest bulletin released on Tuesday, July 23, the recognition ensued at JAMB’s 2024 policy meeting held recently in Abuja.

JAMB's registrar, Prof. Oloyede, listed the other categories as the most-improved institution in the intake of female students and the most-compliant institution in keeping within the guidelines, rules and regulations of admissions.

Prof. Oloyede, in his remarks on the occasion, stated that the board would continue to support excellence in the nation's tertiary institutions to ensure that Nigerians desirous of tertiary education attained the same.

It would be recalled that the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), University of Maiduguri, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Rivers State University and Kaduna Polytechnic, benefited from the maiden edition of NATAP-M with the prize money of N125 million.

In the 2019 NATAP-M Awards, the sum of N500 million was up for grabs while in the 2020 awards, the third edition, the sum of N500 million was given to winning institutions and was held on July 21, 2022.

The fourth edition, which combined those of 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 respectively featured a cash prize of N710 million

To ensure transparency and equity, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC)was part of the assessors, who were invited by JAMB to grade the qualified institutions.

UNILORIN wins JAMB’s N500m merit award

UNILORIN emerged as the best institution for the years 2021 and 2022 after securing 12 points and was, therefore, awarded a N500 million prize in the overall category of the award.

Meanwhile, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, emerged as the second-best institution with 11 points winning a cash prize of N75 million, and Borno State University came third with nine points to win a cash prize of N25 million.

Also, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, emerged as the best Polytechnic with an aggregate of 12 points and received a N50 million prize at the sectoral awards while Federal College of Education, Zaria, emerged as the best College of Education with 11 points to win the N50 million prize in the years under review.

In the Innovation Enterprise Institutions category, PEFTI Film Institute, Lagos, emerged winner with six points and a cash prize of N10 million.

Earlier, Oloyede said the overall award prize was increased to N750 million to help the winner achieve tangible results with the money, and added that overall winners would not be able to win again until after five years to enable the prize to go round.

Furthermore, Prof Oloyede disclosed that after setting aside the N750 million to be given to the winning institutions, the board was still able to remit over N3.5 billion naira to the federal government in 2024.

Minister decries prevalence of fake education certificates

In a piece of related news, Legit.ng reported that Tanko Sununu, the minister of state for education, decried the prevalence of fake certificates.

Sununu emphasised the need for stakeholders to ensure the credibility of the certificates awarded.

Source: Legit.ng