“The decision of the board on the print-out for this year exercise was done in good faith and not to jeopardize the right of candidates due to individual cut-off set by some Nigerian tertiary institutions.

“ Those candidates who do not meet the cut-off marks of such institutions will be placed in needy institutions within their geo-political zone depending on available spaces in such institutions.

“The board’s aim is to accommodate as many candidates as possible instead of just pushing them to schools we know abinitio does not have the carrying capacity to admit all,’’ the statement said

The statement wondered that if UNILAG; with a carrying capacity of about 9,000 candidates has over 60,000 applying to it , what happens to the over 50,000 others?

It said that in such occasion, the board would ensure that there was balance by ensuring that those remaining candidates who were not too fortunate to meet the cut-off marks were also placed in other needy institutions.

According to the statement, candidates are to note that the policy is only meant to ensure that every candidate with a reasonable score of 180 and above is placed somewhere.

It added that Nigerians were also urged to believe in the board as it continually strives to give the entire education system the best.

“ We are not comfortable with the large number of candidates that sits for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), year in year out without gaining admission.

“ It is the belief of the board that this policy will address the shortfall and accommodate more,” the statement said.

In another development, The Registrar/Chief Executive of JAMB, Professor Dibu Ojerinde, has reacted to the protest at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) by parents and candidates who could not access the university’s admission, noting that the policy introduced by JAMB, for which he has been criticised, “is actually meant to help the candidates not only to get admission but to get it on time.”