Some admission seekers and parents have expressed concern over the rising cost of securing admission into tertiary institutions, particularly the N4,000 fee for O’Level result verification on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) portal.

The parents and candidates spoke in separate interviews in Abuja on Thursday, saying expenses associated with admission, including JAMB registration, post-UTME screening, transportation, documentation and result verification, were becoming increasingly difficult to bear.

A parent, Akolade Opadere, described the N4,000 verification fee as an additional burden on families already struggling to finance their children’s education.

Opadere said the situation was more challenging for parents with more than one child seeking admission.

She appealed to JAMB to consider measures that would reduce the financial burden on candidates and their families.

Another parent, Nathaniel Adamu, urged education authorities to consider the overall cost of the admission process rather than treating individual charges separately.

Adamu acknowledged the importance of verifying candidates’ results but called for affordable options for applicants from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.

An admission seeker, Matthew Ohizu, said many candidates depended on their parents or guardians for admission-related expenses, making additional charges difficult to meet.

He said some candidates could be forced to delay the process or borrow money to complete the requirements.

Another candidate, Ayomide Joseph, appealed to JAMB and tertiary institutions to streamline the admission process and eliminate charges for services already covered by approved fees.

Hawal Abdulfatai also said his family had spent substantial amounts on JAMB registration, post-UTME and transportation before being required to complete the O’Level verification process.

Meanwhile, JAMB has clarified that candidates who had previously uploaded their O’Level results do not need to upload them again or obtain a new verification code under the board’s current verification system.

The board said the new verification process was introduced to strengthen the integrity of O’Level results and prevent the use of fraudulent credentials during admissions.

According to JAMB, candidates seeking admission are required to pay N4,000 once for the verification of their O’Level results.

The board said the measure was also intended to reduce the inconvenience and expenses associated with repeated visits to institutions and JAMB-approved Computer-Based Test centres.

The O’Level result verification process is linked to JAMB’s Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), which regulates admissions into tertiary institutions and allows candidates to monitor their admission status and accept provisional offers.

JAMB has also warned candidates against accepting admissions outside CAPS, stressing that recognised admissions must originate from the board and be reflected on its official platform.

The board stated in its 2026 admission guidelines that any admission offer not accompanied by a JAMB admission letter is not recognised, warning candidates who accept such offers to do so at their own risk.

(NAN)