Sudan crisis: JAMB to support integration of returnee students into varsities

• As 136 new evacuees arrive Abuja

Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it will support integration of Nigerian students evacuated from crisis-torn Sudan into the nation’s universities.

The Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, made this known in Abuja, when Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, led some officials to JAMB headquarters.

This came as another batch of Nigerians stranded in Sudan arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The evacuees, 136 in number, arrived aboard a Tarco Aviation aircraft, via Port Sudan, at 9:30 a.m.

Oloyede, who empathised with the students, commended NiDCOM for effective handling of their evacuation promising: “We will provide necessary infrastructure, necessary enablement to make you accommodate or return these candidates (students) to our educational system.”

The JAMB boss, however, urged the students not to tread the path of those who returned to the country over a year ago, following outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war. According to him, the students refused to comply with procedures that should have ensured they continued their academic programmes seamlessly.

He explained: “There are procedures…the transcripts, rules and regulations…Nobody should, by any illusion, believe that a Nigerian university will award a certificate, with less than two years stay and residency in the university.

“The procedure is done legitimately and properly, with cooperation of the National Universities Commission and the individual institution. The guideline from JAMB has already been handed over to the chairperson of the commission.”

Dabiri-Erewa said 1,730 Nigerians had been evacuated from Sudan, as of Tuesday, noting that majority of them are students, eager to continue their education in Nigeria while waiting for the crisis to be over.

The NiDCOM boss assured that laid down procedures would be followed towards integrating the affected students.

She said: “The key thing is that there are processes to follow but they are not difficult processes. That is what we learnt from JAMB. The institutions are already saying they want to give support; they want to admit them. But the key thing is to follow the process as stipulated by JAMB. All the information are on our website.”

A parent of one of the students, Asmau Yerima, commended NiDCOM and JAMB for ensuring the students would not be left to idleness at home.

She said: “Our children are ready to go back to school. We don’t want to keep them at home. We don’t want them to be traumatised. Thanks to JAMB. They have been cooperating. They gave us all the answers we needed, and we are happy our children will be going back to school as soon as possible.”