Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB), has said the decision of the Federal Government to remove mathematics as requirement for students seeking admission to study courses in arts and humanities in higher institutions was to curb forgery.
Oloyede said this during the formal opening ceremony of the Jihad week programme organised by Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria (MSSN), University of Ibadan, and inauguration of Ad-dhikr Magazine, on Sunday in Ibadan.
The JAMB registrar said that the policy had long been in existence, but not implemented and what the Ministry of Education did was to align the policy with the reality on ground in order to discourage forgery.
“How will you say somebody that wants to study Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa or Arabic should not have university admission because of not having mathematics, when such person could go to London University to study Yoruba without mathematics.
“What the Ministry of Education is doing is realigning the policy with the reality on ground and it is our interest not to encourage forgery,” the JAMB registrar said.
Oloyede, a guest lecturer, who spoke on the event’s theme: “The Paragon”, said that a paragon was someone to be emulated, urging all Muslims to strive to be a paragon and a role model wherever they are.
He said that the MSSN, being a Muslim mass movement organisation, must ensure to bring all Muslims together without discrimination and propagate Islam, not only by preaching, but also by their conducts.
“MSSN has the capacity to invite people to see the beauty of Islam and the current MSSN must continue to do that, build genuine and sincere relationship among one another,” the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin said.
Also, the Chairman of the occasion, Mr Idris Adeoye,commended the founding fathers of MSSN for nurturing and guiding Muslim students, urging the students to be a complete Muslims and ambassadors of Islam.
Adeoye urged Nigerian youths to believe in the country and shun acts that could jeopardise their future.
Earlier, the Ameer of MSSN, University of Ibadan, Umar Faruq, said it was worrisome that a lot of abnormalities in the society were seen as being normal and anyone attempting to correct it was termed wicked.
Faruq called Muslims, especially the youths, to shun internet fraud, alcohol consumption and others things that are against the dictate of God and the Quran.
“As Muslims we must stand tall and be role models in our deeds, academically, spiritually and mentally,” he said.
Also speaking, Vice President of Muslim Ummah, South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), Alhaji Rafiu Ebiti, said that the MSSN has a vital role to play not only in Islam but also in educational development of Nigeria.
Ebiti said things are changing in the society and MSSN needs to adapt positively to those changes and bring more Muslims on board without descrimination.
MSSN is a large Islamic student organisation founded in 1954 to promote Islamic education, unity, and welfare among Muslim students across Nigeria. It is a major student organisation that engages in socio-cultural, educational, and religious activities, including vocational training, leadership programmes, and inter-school competitions.
