JAMB sanctions officials for asking candidate to remove Hijab

JAMB sanctions officials for asking candidate to remove Hijab

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Sunday, April 21, sanctioned some of its accredited officials for asking a hijab-wearing female Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate to remove her headcover before she could sit for the examination.

The statement, which was in reaction to publications on some news platforms titled ‘RE: LAGOS CENTRE STOPS HIJAB-WEARING CANDIDATES AS UTME COMMENCES,’ said the incident was instantly resolved with the female candidate being allowed to sit for the UTME with her hijab.

While saying it has no policy barring candidates from sporting the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their religious persuasions, JAMB said the affected officials acted in ignorance, which is not an excuse before the law.

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The examination body also revealed that about 1.2 million candidates would have successfully taken the UTME by Monday, April 22, 2024.

The statement reads: “The attention of the Board was drawn to an unfortunate incident at the Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos, where it was reported by Muslim News of Sunday, 21st April, 2024, and other platforms, that a candidate donning hijab was asked to remove her headcover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall.

“The Board deeply regretted the incident and, on investigation, discovered, that this particular incident, or others in the past, is not linked to any of its examination guidelines but rather a product of the misplaced priority of some of the Board’s accredited partners or officials who claimed ignorance of the Board’s guidelines on accreditation, which ensures that all candidates are screened, allowing only female officials to screen female candidates before allowing them to gain entrance into the hall.