El-Rufai: JAMB, Stop Giving Northern Candidates Preferential Treatment

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has ordered the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to make the cut-off marks for students from the north equal to those in the south.

iexclusive News Nigeria reports that during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily Monday, El-Rufai stated that standardizing the scores will allow students from the North to compete on a national and worldwide level.

El-Rufai also claimed that the state’s current school closures are the main purpose of bandits and terrorists oppressing the state, and that they will not succeed.

“The North has always been behind in education; we’ve always been the disadvantaged region, even though we’ve been granted preferences, JAMB scores, and all that,” he remarked. This hasn’t helped; in fact, it’s made our people more sedentary.

“In light of the disparity in JAMB and FG (Federal Government) scores, I believe people should be encouraged to work hard and compete, and we’re ready to prepare our youngsters in Kaduna State to be competitive not only in the state, but also globally.

“The schools are presently shuttered because security officials have advised that enormous security operations will take a few months. That’s exactly what they’re doing. We are optimistic that the gradual reopening of schools will begin in the following two weeks.

“We’ve shifted many of our students from rural locations where we aren’t confident we can safeguard them to metropolitan schools, causing congestion in the cities where we can.”

“The continuous closure of schools is exactly what bandits and Boko Haram want, and we will not let them win,” the governor said. “However, we must prioritize the safety of our children and teachers.”

He also stated that the reopening of schools would begin soon.