From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said he almost resigned his job due to pressures that accompanied the open admittance of technical glitches/human errors in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in South East and parts of Lagos state.
Prof. Oloyede stated this on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ meeting with Chief External Examiners, State Technical Advisers, and other key stakeholders in Abuja.
He said: “When the incident happened, my first thought was to resign, but respected people close to me discouraged the action.
“They said the students would never forgive me because it would look like I abandoned them at a time. However, managing the rescheduling process of UTME effectively was a tough but necessary step to ensure fairness.”
The JAMB Registrar, however, criticized those questioning the swift rescheduling of the examination for affected candidates, explaining the tight academic calendar the UTME candidates must adhere to.
“Most people are asking why the hasty rescheduling. These are obviously people are far from knowing the reality on the ground.
“They are talking about a lack of knowledge. Anybody who knows how the education system knows that once JAMB conducts its UTME in April, WAEC and NECO start theirs immediately, and NABTEB follows.
“These sets of students are the ones taking all these examinations. So, once you miss your time, it will be very difficult.
“Some are asking why can’t JAMB fix the rescheduled UTME in July, August? Maybe they are oblivious to what happens when you do that.
“What of NDA? What of Police Academy, what of Air Force examinations that are regulated?
“They continue with their admissions, and you deprive these people of admission because they do not have UTME. We are conscious of our responsibility to this nation,” he said.
Prof. Oloyede, however, announced plans to conduct a mop-up UTME for candidates who were unable to sit for the examination due to various reasons.
“We are also taking a decision immediately for candidates who missed the resit opportunity for whatever reason to enjoy another opportunity.
“So it is not that we are doing something that is wrong in the university, we have make-up examination. It’s only that we don’t allow the abuse of it.
“So, we will allow all the candidates who, because of one thing or the other, were unable to participate in the rescheduled and the previous main exam,” he said.
Prof. Oloyede reiterated his commitment to integrity and national duty, dismissing any insinuations of bias in handling the crisis.
“As chief executive of JAMB, I don’t really care where any of our staff comes from. All I know is that they have been doing their jobs for years. The emotional breakdown on my part was not a sign of weakness, nor is it an excuse to abdicate our responsibilities.
“Let us not descend to a level where some people begin to pontificate because some people want to take advantage of the situation on the ground.”
Prof. Oloyede described the tragedy as a profound emotional burden, emphasising that his reaction stemmed from empathy, not an attempt to shift blame.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Chief External Examiners group, Prof. Vincent Tenebe lauded Oloyede’s leadership during the challenging period.
“And we know that we have shown some kind of leadership by owning up, even though it wasn’t his fault or anybody’s fault.
“I want to use this opportunity once more to encourage all of us to come together to ensure that this country moves forward. Nigeria is a very important country, not only in Africa, but globally,” he said.