2024 UTME: Call for compensation of candidate asked to remove hijab misplaced — JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has said Ms. Tiamiyu Ayisat Morenikeji who was asked to remove her Hijab during its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, at Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos, but was later allowed in through the kind intervention of the Board’s officials , did not lose a minute of her scheduled time.

To this end, JAMB said the call for her compensation was, therefore, misplaced not only because it had no place in its operation but also because the candidate was not deprived of anything as the fracas lasted not more than five minutes.

“We urge all stakeholders, be it religious or civil society, to be circumspect with their requests, because the Board, as a national institution, does not pander to the whims and caprices of any group, creed or individual and will, therefore, continue to be fair and just in its dealings in line with its statutory duties,” JAMB said in a statement by the spokesman, Fabian Benjamin.

The statement read further:”The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, wishes to further reiterate that Ms. Tiamiyu Ayisat Morenikeji who was asked to remove her Hijab at Bafuto Institute, Ile-Iwe Bus Stop, Ejigbo, Lagos, but was later allowed in through the kind intervention of the Board’s officials on ground, did not lose a minute out of her scheduled time.

“This clarification is necessary to dispel the erroneous insinuations in some quarters that she was not allowed into the examination venue until after 30 minutes with some even calling for compensation.

”This is a misleading narrative aimed at further inflaming passion and exacerbating an already-settled issue.”