The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) was not the invention of a single individual but rather the result of collective efforts led by the Nigerian government to address the challenges of higher education admissions. The idea for JAMB was initiated during the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo in the late 1970s. The board was formally established in 1978 through the enactment of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Decree No. 2 of 1978, later replaced by the JAMB Act.
Key figures in the establishment of JAMB include Professor Michael A. Ajayi, who became its first registrar, and policymakers in the Ministry of Education who recognized the need for a centralized body to manage the admissions process. Prior to JAMB, universities and other tertiary institutions conducted their entrance examinations independently, leading to inefficiencies, duplication, and lack of coordination.
JAMB was invented to provide a unified and standardized examination system, ensuring equity and fairness in Nigeria’s higher education admissions process.