Nigerians were taken aback on Wednesday as Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) admitted to the error that affected the performance of students during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
During a press briefing in Abuja, the examination board boss stated, “What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors”.
The UTME is a critical prerequisite for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It tests candidates in four subjects, including the compulsory Use of English, with the other three drawn from their proposed field of study.
Out of the 1.9 million candidates who sat for the 2025 UTME, over 1.5 million scored below 200 out of a possible 400 marks, triggering widespread concern in the education sector.
Since the revelation on Wednesday, some Nigerians have continued to call for the resignation of Oloyede and a robust investigation into the cause of the massive failure.
One of the notable Nigerians who called for Oloyede’s resignation is Omoyele Sowore, a Human rights activist and presidential candidate in the 2023 elections.
Sowore argued that the Registrar should be tried for manslaughter following the death of a female candidate who took her life for failing the national examination.
He wrote on Facebook, “The Registrar of the Jamb official Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Prof. Oloyede bears responsibility for the organization’s egregious errors, which have devastatingly claimed a young life, shedding crocodile tears is not a remedy for these infractions. As a first step, he should resign, followed by a thorough investigation and possible prosecution for manslaughter. Moreover, JAMB must be scrapped.”
A Facebook user Adebayo Femi Samuel said, “This man will do himself well to resign from this office. Every government parastatal is doing whatever they like. When the deed has been done, you see them shedding crocodile tears.”
“These tears will not cut it, he should resign. What kind of country is this? We can’t even conduct an ordinary examination. These people are just running a whole country like a WhatsApp group, they just make careless mistakes and get away with it. It’s so sad that a girl had to lose her life before this error was admitted,” were the words of a netizen, Ruthie.
Ojochenemi Ruth said, “The JAMB Registrar must take responsibility and consider stepping down. This level of embarrassment highlights the consequences of poor oversight. As a CEO, failing to ensure effective supervision can lead to serious reputational damage caused by incompetent staff.”
Sanusi Adekunle stated, “It’s not about making a press conference, it’s about the future of our young generation. If it’s in an advanced country, he would resign immediately, there must be compensation for these children.”
Moore Moris wondered why Oloyede is yet to resign saying, “Why is it so difficult for people in this part of the world to resign their position each time they failed woefully? The best is not to shed crocodile tears, resign honourably and hand yourself to the authority. If not for the reaction of parents and participants, it would have been swept under the carpet.”
