The Senate Committee on Basic Education says a bill seeking to amend the act establishing the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB to stop the board from admitting candidates below the age of 18 years is underway.
Speaking during an oversight visit to JAMB on Monday, the Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, said there is a nexus between age and learning ability, especially at Tertiary Institutions.
Eyakenyi noted that the significance of education in the growth and development of the country can’t be overemphasized, hence the need to give the education sector the needed attention.
The Senator averred that JAMB is a crucial link between the secondary and the university, stressing that the agency is a vital tool for the delivery of quality and standard education in Nigeria.
“If the products from the secondary schools are not properly catered for and assessed before turning them into the university, definitely you will have a problem,” she said.
According to her, the committee had identified two major areas to be addressed in the proposed amendment for the exam body to perform optimally.
She disclosed that her committee would liaise with appropriate government MDAs with a view to ensuring that JAMB gets the support it needs to improve its performance.
Eyakenyi said: “Our own work is that of making laws, to legislate; we have identified two major areas that we need to go into the process of amending the act establishing JAMB. That’s the area of support we will give.
“Other than that, we also intend to pass on what we have seen today to the appropriate MDAs, the Federal Ministry of Education, to ensure that the support JAMB needs is given to them.”
