By Sabiu Abdullahi
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has taken disciplinary action against an official in Lagos who directed a female candidate to remove her hijab during the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The incident occurred at Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop in Ejigbo, Lagos, during the accreditation process, causing controversy.
The candidate was told to remove her hijab, a head covering worn by some Muslim women, before being allowed to sit the examination.
JAMB condemned the official’s action in a statement issued on Sunday, saying: “We were made aware of an unfortunate incident where a candidate wearing a hijab was asked to remove her headcover during accreditation before entering the examination hall.”
The board reaffirmed its commitment to selecting suitably qualified candidates for admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions and assured that it would not allow any distractions from this goal.
The 2024 UTME, which began on Friday, April 19, 2024, has been smooth, with over 1.2 million candidates successfully taking the examination by Monday.
According to JAMB’s spokesman, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, “The Board is dedicated to fulfilling its statutory role and will not allow anything or anyone to hinder its pursuit of this noble goal.”