JAMB says hijab-wearing allowed; sanctions official

…reveals candidates to hit 1.2m today

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board(JAMB) has revealed that it has sanctioned its official who directed a female candidate to remove her hijab before entering the examination hall in Lagos.

The board also said the conduct of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) which commenced on Friday, April 19th, 2024, had been seamless with over 1.2 million candidates having successfully taken the examination by Monday.

Report had emerged that a candidate donning hijab was asked to remove her headcover during the accreditation process before being allowed into the examination hall at Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos.

The development had been trailed by controversies, as some adherents of a particular religious faith rose against the action.

Reacting to the development in a statement yesterday, the board, which said such action was not in line with its rules, explained that the official was sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others who might wish to toe the same line.

In the statement, tagged “Re: Lagos Centre Stops Hijab-wearing Candidates”, through its spokesman, Fabian Benjamin, JAMB expressed regret at the incident.

The statement read:  “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,  April 21, 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.

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

“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.”