The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board have on Sunday sanctioned some officially over harassment of a Hijab wearing candidate
The Candidate who sat for her for her Unified Tertiary examination at the Bafuto institute, Ejigbo, Lagos state was said to have been asked to remove her headcover (hijab) before she coupd be allowed to take the exams
The public officer of the board, Dr Fabian Benjamin stated that it deeply regrets the incidentÂ
“This situation was instantly addressed by a senior official of the Board at the center and the candidate in question was allowed in after the usual checks with her hijab.
“However, since ignorance of the law is not an excuse, the officials have been appropriately sanctioned to serve as a deterrent to others, who might wish to toe the same line going forward.
“It is worthy of note that the Board, as a national institution, has no policy barring candidates from sporting the religious paraphernalia peculiar to their religious persuasions as these are the facts of everyday life in Nigeria, which everyone should have been familiar with by now.”
Furthermore, the Board assured the general public that the issue would be properly investigated as to prevent a recurrence.
“The Board is committed to the discharge of its statutory role of ensuring that suitably qualified candidates are selected for admission into the nation’s tertiary institutions and would not allow anything or anyone to detract it from the pursuit of this noble goal,”