JAMB’s Endless Blunders: Another year, another national embarrassment

Once again, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has proven to be more of a national headache than a helpful institution. What should be a simple and streamlined gateway to tertiary education in Nigeria has, year after year, descended into chaos, confusion, and widespread frustration.

This is no isolated incident. JAMB’s failures are not new—they’re chronic. It’s a legacy of missteps and mismanagement that dates back decades. Remember 1997? Headlines screamed, “JAMB Annuls 95,000 Results.” Just a year later, P.M. News ran a scathing editorial titled “Nigerian Education and the Jamming Role of JAMB,” a reflection of the fatigue Nigerians felt even then. Go further back to 1993, and The Nigerian Economist was already calling for the body to be stripped of its role in admissions, citing “declining standards.” It wasn’t that academic standards were collapsing, but that public trust in JAMB had nearly evaporated.

Fast forward to today, and little has changed—except perhaps the growing sense of hopelessness. Prestigious institutions like the University of Ibadan (UI), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), University of Lagos (UNILAG), and University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) no longer rely solely on JAMB’s results. These universities, like many others, now conduct their own Post-UTME screenings, effectively bypassing JAMB’s questionable assessments.

Why? Because faith in JAMB’s credibility has worn dangerously thin. The very institutions JAMB is supposed to serve have taken matters into their own hands to protect the integrity of their admissions process.

It’s time we stop treating JAMB’s failures as unfortunate accidents and start seeing them for what they are: a systemic rot that demands urgent reform—or perhaps, complete overhaul.

The reliance on Post-UTME exams to filter out subpar candidates and potential cheats highlights a significant failure in JAMB’s ability to deliver credible results. This workaround has become a necessary but costly and inefficient process, indicating that JAMB is simply not meeting its responsibilities as an admissions body.

This situation reflects a broader “Manage It Like That” attitude embedded within our national culture, even at top levels of academia. There’s a concerning tolerance for mediocrity and systemic failures. JAMB officials may acknowledge their mistakes and offer apologies, but how long can we permit the incompetence of a few to be casually dismissed as fate or divine intervention? This deflection serves as an excuse for negligence and disrespects the intelligence of the Nigerian populace.

Recent events, characterized by technical issues, disputed results, and widespread confusion, have sparked outrage among many. Former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has been vocal about the unacceptable nature of this ongoing crisis, emphasizing that it signifies a deep-rooted issue undermining our educational future. She asked, “How can we build a nation of critical thinkers when the very foundation of their academic journey is so shaky?”

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) echoed these sentiments, condemning the chaos and threatening to organize mass protests unless significant reforms are implemented immediately. Despite the growing outcry and calls for accountability, it appears that JAMB remains stubbornly resistant, turning a deaf ear to the frustrations of the very people it is meant to serve.

We witnessed the Registrar become emotional on national television, but such sentiments provide little comfort to over 1.5 million young Nigerians. These are our future leaders, and their prospects are perilously uncertain. Tragically, we’ve seen reports of students taking their own lives out of despair stemming from negligence that led to low scores on exams they believed they were prepared for. Others have faced the danger of kidnapping, simply because they had to leave their homes as early as 6 AM to take exams in a country with significant security risks. This situation is not merely an administrative error; it amounts to a national tragedy with grave human consequences.

Why does it take petitions from various organizations and even lawsuits for JAMB to recognize its shortcomings? Their so-called “swift” rescheduling of exams often just shifts problems around, leading to clashes with other vital ongoing examinations. It’s the classic case of solving one issue by creating another.

Drastic action is needed. Those responsible for this ongoing crisis must be held accountable. It cannot stop at apologies; there must be real repercussions. Independent investigations are essential, and those guilty of gross negligence and systemic failures should face serious penalties, including dismissal and potential prosecution. We cannot continue to rely on an institution that repeatedly shows such incompetence when it comes to the future of our youth. Nigeria deserves better, and our children deserve access to a fair, transparent, and capable educational pathway. JAMB in its current form has overstayed its welcome. An overhaul is necessary.