Crisis due to human error, not technical glitch, says Reps panel
Pioneer Deputy National Chairman of the Association of Nigeria Universities Alumni (ANUA), Dr Stephen Fasakin, has defended the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, on the recent system glitch that marred the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)
However, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies attributed the 2025 UTME results crisis to human error, ruling out technical glitch.
Fasakin, in a statement in Ilorin, yesterday, urged that Oloyede, rather than being criticised, ought to be commended for having conducted globally rated examinations before now.
Calling for three years validity of JAMB results of this year’s UTME exercise, Fasakin believes the move would calm the nerves of the students.
He, however, pleaded with Nigerians for a calm engagement rather than public condemnation of the JAMB boss.
“The professor has conducted this same examination excellently over the years”, Fasakin said, “It is quite unfortunate that the last exercise didn’t follow the smoothness of the previous ones.”
The former ANUA chief, widely respected for his voice in educational reform, said the recent glitch was not deliberate and urged stakeholders to be fair in their judgment.
“A system glitch is not something we wish for. It should be established that Oloyede will not compromise his integrity over issues like this, especially when it can be corrected. He has tendered an apology and we must acknowledge the rare courage it took for him to do that,” he stated.
He applauded the JAMB boss for birthing the Computer-Based Test (CBT) in Nigeria’s public examination and setting a roadmap that other exam bodies can adopt.
Fasakin sympathised with affected candidates and expressed hope that corrective measures would yield favourable outcomes.
SPEAKING at a briefing, yesterday, Chairman of the committee, Oboku Oforji, said preliminary findings indicated that the error, which affected over 300,000 candidates, was not due to technical failure.
The results from JAMB’s 2025 UTME were released on May 9. A breakdown showed that more than 78 per cent of candidates scored less than 50 per cent of the 400 points obtainable. This spurred protests that questioned the overall integrity of the examination process.
JAMB undertook an early review and reportedly uncovered a major “technical error”.
Oforji, flanked by his colleagues, said the fault was caused by human error not a technical issue as claimed by JAMB, and sympathised with the candidates affected by the error.
“The committee recognises the courage and sincerity of Prof Oloyede for accepting the fault on behalf of his team and apologising to the parents, candidates and the nation in general,” he added. “However, these human errors were avoidable because it was due to negligence by JAMB.”
