JAMB Disburses Over N2.4bn to Tertiary Institutions in Nine Years – Oloyede

Through its NATAP-M awards, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board claims to have given tertiary institutions more than N2.4 billion to support openness and merit-based admissions.

Over the previous nine years, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has awarded N2.42 billion to tertiary institutions throughout Nigeria through its National Tertiary Admissions Performance–Merit Awards (NATAP-M).

This was revealed by Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the Board Registrar, at a meeting with State Commissioners of Education in Lagos.

During his presentation, Oloyede described how the NATAP-M award, which was created in 2018, was intended to promote merit-based, transparent, and equitable admissions procedures among postsecondary institutions while also encouraging rigorous adherence to national admission rules.

He recalled that N125 million was awarded in the first edition of the awards in 2018. In 2019, this jumped to N375 million, and in 2020, it reached N500 million.

He claims that during a combined award ceremony for the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 editions, the prize money was adjusted increased and a total of N710 million was given out. The top-performing institution overall received N500 million during a second combined session for the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 cycles, which was reorganized into sectoral prizes.

According to Prof. Oloyede, organizations have used the money for worthwhile projects including building roads, creating Computer-Based Test (CBT) centers, building hostels, upgrading infrastructure, and fixing facilities.

He gave two examples: Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria built access roads, and the University of Ilorin used its award cash to establish a hostel called the JAMB Merit Award International Hostel.

The JAMB Merit prize-Spider FM Radio Station, a medical laboratory, and the renovation of Kaduna Polytechnic’s administration block—all dubbed in honor of the prize—were established using the award funds.

Other recipients include the Federal University, Wukari, which used its cash to build access roads and infrastructure, and the Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, which built a CBT center worth millions of naira.