Will Wrong Date of Birth Affect Admission?

Some students are stuck in the dilemma of incorrect dates of birth on some of their documents. Some have the wrong dates of birth on their SSCE results (e.g., WAEC, NECO, or NABTEB). Others have made mistakes on their NIN, consequently affecting their JAMB forms and results.

Meanwhile, they've attempted a few corrections without success, leading to confusion. They are now seeking clarification to determine if errors in their dates of birth will affect their admission or not.

A concerned student, like you, recently contacted me for the same clarification. We talked at length, and in this post, I will share our discussions. You may be fortunate to have your concerns addressed too.

Errors in the Date of Birth Will Affect You, But Not Admission

Depending on where the error is, you may directly be affected without impacting your admission chance. Is the error on your O'level result (e.g., NECO or WAEC)? Is the error on the JAMB form?

If the error is on your O'level result, it means the date of birth on NIN/JAMB is correct. The school and JAMB will still offer you admission, but you may encounter some issues during your freshmen's documentation/physical screening.

These schools want to ensure that the dates of birth on both SSCE results, and JAMB forms/results are the same. Even if you have been offered admission, on the JAMB and school portal, before the screening/documentation, they will still scrutinize you during the physical checking of your documents.

As you must have deduced from the above, you'll be offered admission but will be queried during the screening/documentation.

Recommended: I've Registered for JAMB Before REQUERY, Help!

1. Some Schools Will Insist on Tallying Dates of Birth

Here, some schools may insist that you go to the JAMB office and change the date of birth on the JAMB to match that on your O'level. Even if the JAMB is correct, you may be compelled to change it to the wrong one on your O'level result so that things will tally across the board.

Apparently, they know you may not or won't be able to change the date of birth on your SSCE, even though it's the one that's wrong. This is because these exam bodies don't change dates of birth any longer. Hence, you're advised to accept your fate, change the date on your NIN/JAMB, which is still acceptable and possible.

Recommended: Names, DOB Changed on NIN, Will It Change on JAMB?

2. Some Schools May Accept Affidavit of Errors in Date of Birth

Before now, some schools did not mind if you backed this error up with a court affidavit. This affidavit would state that an error was made on your WAEC or NECO result and it's not possible to change. Then, it would give the real date of birth, which will tally with the one on your NIN/JAMB form/result.

However, this is not widely acceptable any longer. We've seen instances where some schools decline the affidavits presented by students who have some mix-ups in their dates of birth on SSCE results.

These schools are not lenient enough to understand where these kinds of errors occur. Hence, they insist on making sure that the dates of birth tally on both SSCE results and JAMB results. With that, they insist you go to NIMC office to correct your NIN date of birth to the one on your SSCE result. Then, change the date of birth on the JAMB result to the same too.

Recommended: JAMB: Can I Change Date of Birth After Registration?

If the Error is on NIN/JAMB Result, You'll Be Offered Admission

As you must have assumed, based on what's already covered above, if the mistake in the date of birth is not on the O'level result but on NIN/JAMB form, you'll still be offered admission.

Such errors won't stop the school or JAMB from offering admission. What's important is to ensure that the date on this JAMB form tallies with the one on WAEC or NECO result. If otherwise, you'll undergo similar stress as detailed earlier.

For the sake of repetition, you'll need to change this date of birth to the correct one on your SSCE result. First, correct it on NIN. Afterward, take the corrected NIN (national ID card) to JAMB office for the correction of the date of birth on the JAMB portal.

JAMB will use your corrected National ID card date of birth to correct the one on its portal too - all things being equal. It's after this perfection that the school management or screening officials will clear you to be a bonafide student of the school.

If You Spot the Error Before the Admission...

The best time to correct dates of birth on NIN is before obtaining the JAMB form. In fact, if you spot this error earlier, just correct it by ensuring it tallies with the one on your O'level result. After that, you can obtain the JAMB form. This is because it's the date of birth on your NIN that JAMB will show on your JAMB form.

However, if you don't realize this mistake until you have obtained the JAMB form or even written the exam or received the result, it's still possible to correct the errors. What you'll do is go to NIMC and correct the date of birth on NIN. Afterward, go to the JAMB office for the correction on the JAMB portal too.

Ensure this happens before your school finally offers you admission. Of course, if you delay, they'll still offer you admission notwithstanding. However, be ready to face the stress when reporting to the school for freshmen's documentation/screening and bio-data registration on the students portal.

Change the Date of Birth on the Birth Certificate Too

As a result of the changes made on your NIN/JAMB portal, you may need to change the date of birth on your birth certificate as well. To do that, there is no need for any editing; you'll only need to get a new birth certificate. Don't forget that the date of birth must tally across the board. With the earlier explanation, the date of birth should be the same on both the SSCE result and JAMB result by now.

Next, obtain a new certificate or court declaration of age carrying the same details as the NIN/JAMB result and SSCE result. Of course, this date may not be the correct one, since the situation warrants perfection; you have to go by what you have.

Conclusion

Navigating discrepancies in dates of birth on academic documents can be a challenging process for students. This post delves into the potential impacts on admission and provides insights into the steps students can take to rectify errors. Emphasizing the importance of consistency across documents, the discussion sheds light on the varying approaches schools may take when encountering such discrepancies. 

From practical solutions like obtaining a new birth certificate to the complexities of dealing with mismatched dates on different documents, the post serves as a comprehensive guide for students seeking clarity on this often-overlooked aspect of the admission process.

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