News

JAMB Sanctions Officials Over Harassment Of Hijab-Wearing Candidate

Published

9 months ago

Apr 21, 2024.

JAMB Sanctions Officials Over Harassment Of Hijab-Wearing Candidateate.
Incident prompts immediate response from JAMB management, with Head of Public Affairs issuing statement.
Board reaffirms commitment to candidates’ rights to wear religious attire and pledges to prevent similar incidents in the future.

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has taken disciplinary measures against some of its officials following an incident of harassment against a female candidate wearing a hijab during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos.

According to reports from this online media platform, the female candidate was asked to remove her hijab during the accreditation process before being allowed entry into the examination hall, a violation of JAMB’s inclusive guidelines.

EDITOR’S PICKS

The incident, which occurred on Saturday, prompted an immediate response from JAMB’s management.

Dr. Fabian Benjamin, Head of Public Affairs for JAMB, issued a statement expressing regret over the incident and emphasizing that it contradicted the Board’s examination guidelines.

The statement clarified, “This situation was instantly addressed by a senior official of the Board at the centre, and the candidate in question was allowed in after the usual checks with her hijab.”

Further investigations revealed that the unfortunate event stemmed from the actions of some of JAMB’s accredited partners or officials who were unaware of the Board’s guidelines concerning accreditation.

JAMB Sanctions Officials

“However, since ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the officials have been appropriately sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others who might wish to toe the same line going forward,” Benjamin added.

JAMB reiterated its commitment to upholding candidates’ rights to wear religious attire, stating that the institution has no policy against candidates wearing religious paraphernalia.

“It is worthy of note that the Board, as a national institution, has no policy barring candidates from sporting the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their religious persuasions as these are the facts of everyday life in Nigeria, which everyone should have been familiar with by now,” he said.