Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has cancelled the special concession and registration hitherto allowed for people with albinism, citing misuse of the privilege to perpetrate malpractice.

Its Registrar, Prof. Isaq Oloyede, announced at a meeting with Commissioners for Education in Lagos, stating that some individuals were using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to manipulate the registration process.

He explained that the concession was stopped because some people were exploiting it, adding that over 7,000 candidates claimed to be albinos in the previous year.

Oloyede warned that JAMB would not tolerate any form of malpractice, emphasising that the board had taken steps to check the activities of unscrupulous individuals.

The Registrar also urged faith-based institutions to disclose their status from the outset, cautioning against pretending to be secular to attract applicants and later imposing religious rules.

Regarding admission criteria, Oloyede explained that Federal Government-owned institutions follow a 45 per cent merit, 20 per cent catchment area, 20 per cent educationally less disadvantaged states, and the rest for others.

He encouraged states to allocate at least 10 per cent to merit, regardless of where candidates come from, to diversify student populations.

The meeting also discussed issues relating to underage candidates, with Oloyede stating that candidates must be at least 16 years old by September 30, 2026, to be eligible for admission.

He added that underage candidates would undergo an intensive evaluation process and must score not less than 80 per cent in the senior school certificate examination, UTME/A’LEVEL, as well as exceptional candidate assessments.

The JAMB helmsman warned candidates to declare any previous registration or admission records, stating that failure to do so would be sanctioned.