From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has charged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to undertake an independent audit of its examination infrastructure.
Kalu, who gave the charge, on Sunday, at a press briefing, in Abuja, said the audit should involve external professionals, system engineers and academics measurement experts.
According to him, the audit should scrutinize every aspect of the Computer Based Test ( CBT) engine, question delivery, answer validation and result collation processes.
The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination ( UTME) conducted by JAMB had recorded mass failure. Amid public outcry, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, admitted that the examination in some states, including the South East states, was marred by technical glitch.
Nonetheless, the deputy speaker said
“JAMB must immediately review all available technical and independent reports including those from third-party educational technology companies that have gathered candidate-level data to fully understand the scope and implications of the crisis. Only by triangulating internal findings with external audits can we ensure that no affected candidate is left behind.
“Now that the rescheduled examinations have concluded, I urge JAMB to
commission an independent, transparent audit of its entire examination
infrastructure. This audit should involve external professionals, system
engineers, and academic measurement experts to scrutinize every aspect
of the CBT engine, question delivery, answer validation, and result collation
processes.
“JAMB should proactively publish anonymized, candidate-level result data
for independent verification and open its systems to Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests as a gesture of transparency and accountability.
This will go a long way in rebuilding public trust.
“Going forward, JAMB must implement stronger deployment validation
protocols and real-time monitoring mechanisms to prevent recurrence.
Every system update must be thoroughly tested and confirmed across all
server clusters before deployment during high-stakes examinations’
Kalu added that “it is imperative that candidates from the South-East and Lagos who have
already borne the brunt of these failures are not further disadvantaged.
JAMB must provide a clear, accessible mechanism for remark and appeal,
especially for those dissatisfied with the hurried resit or who experienced
technical difficulties during the second sitting.
“Furthermore, coordination
with WAEC and other examination bodies must continue to ensure that no
candidate’s academic progression is impeded by scheduling conflicts.”