The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has distanced itself from the growing controversy over the non-mobilisation of some Higher National Diploma graduates for the National Youth Service Corps, insisting it plays no role in HND admissions.

Registrar of JAMB, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, made the clarification during a meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Polytechnic Students, led by Comrade Eshofune Paul Oghayan, amid mounting complaints from affected graduates.

Many of the aggrieved HND holders completed their National Diploma through part-time or other non-regular modes before proceeding to full-time HND programmes. On graduation, they discovered they were either rejected for NYSC mobilisation or issued exemption certificates, often without clear explanations.

Oloyede stressed that JAMB’s statutory mandate covers the conduct of entrance examinations and the processing of admissions into first-degree, National Diploma and Nigerian Certificate in Education programmes only. According to him, the Board neither supervises nor records admissions into HND programmes and therefore cannot provide the data NYSC requires for mobilisation at that level.

He advised students and graduates to direct their grievances to the appropriate regulatory bodies and their institutions, noting that once a candidate leaves the ND level, responsibility for further admission processes rests squarely with the polytechnics and relevant agencies.

The Registrar used the opportunity to underscore the centrality of JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System to legitimate admissions. CAPS, he explained, automates and standardises the process, restores institutional autonomy within clear rules, prevents multiple admissions and enhances transparency for candidates and institutions alike.

Oloyede warned that any admission conducted outside CAPS is null and void, adding that some polytechnics still bypass the platform and exceed the enrolment quotas approved by the National Board for Technical Education. This, he said, creates a mismatch between ND and HND numbers and complicates NYSC mobilisation, especially when students switch institutions for their HND.

He also criticised so-called “Daily Part-Time” and other unconventional HND programmes, describing many as exploitative and often not recognised for NYSC service. In some cases, he alleged, institutions had run thousands of irregular admissions, leaving graduates stranded.

Oloyede maintained that strict adherence to approved admission procedures by institutions would eliminate most of the problems, pledging that JAMB would continue to provide credible services while insisting that “things must be done properly” across the sector.