A recent server glitch during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has sparked widespread concerns, re-igniting debates about the reliability of computer-based examinations and the readiness of examination bodies to go fully automated, OWEDE AGBAJILEKE reports.
The server glitch that plagued this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has sent shockwaves nationwide, particularly in Lagos and the South-East states, where unusually high failure rates were recorded.
The technical issue has ignited intense debates, with many stakeholders questioning the reliability and effectiveness of computer-based examinations.
Coming barely a year to the deadline issued by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) to fully migrate to CBT for all their examinations, pundits noted that the development raises critical concerns about the readiness of Nigeria’s examination bodies to transition to full computer-based testing.
The Federal Government had announced plans to transition WAEC and NECO exams to CBT by 2026, citing benefits such as reduced examination malpractice, streamlined logistics, and faster result processing.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who gave the order recently, believes that leveraging technology in examinations aligns with Nigeria’s vision to create a future-ready educational ecosystem, citing JAMB’s successful adoption of CBT for over 2.2 million candidates as a model.
Giving an implementation timeline, the minister said the two examination bodies would start conducting objective tests in November 2025, with a full switch to CBT, including essay papers, expected by May/June 2026.
Alausa also disclosed that a committee is currently reviewing examination standards nationwide, with recommendations expected this month.
The minister further added that the examination bodies would utilise JAMB’s existing 887 CBT centres across the country for their exams.
As expected, the news has elicited divergent reactions from Nigerians. While some described the initiative as long overdue, others called for caution, referencing technical glitches, unusually low scores and alleged irregularities in this year’s UTME that witnessed an unprecedented 70 per cent failure rate.
Others also wondered how the Federal Government plans to consolidate WAEC’s 20,000 exam centres into JAMB’s much smaller network of 887 centres.
There are equally concerns that the proposed shift to computer-based exams may put many schools, particularly public secondary and some private ones, at a disadvantage, due to inadequate infrastructure, including lack of computer laboratories, unreliable internet, erratic power supply, and insufficiently trained teachers to prepare students for the exams.
Those who held this view believe that the timing of the glitch is particularly worrisome, even as they advocated a re-evaluation of the implementation timeline, by giving room for more consultation as well as reassessment of the technical infrastructure needed to support large-scale computer-based exams countrywide.
Speaking with The Guardian on the development, the Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said the policy would limit the children’s access to education.
Rafsanjani, who is also Chairman of Amnesty International Nigeria, lamented that the policy intentionally created difficult conditions to prevent students from taking the exam.
The human rights activist subsequently called on the government to immediately review and reconsider the policy to ensure that it does not unfairly shut out students and deny them access to education.
He said: “Sometimes our policymakers take certain decisions without looking at the capacity of the country to implement those decisions or directives. I think it is important that, in order not to be ridiculing ourselves, as a nation, we should ensure that we have the necessary infrastructure and capacity to implement these directives, and have them in place before we make them compulsory.
“There is nothing wrong with introducing a policy, but it must be sound and practicable. You need to have them in phases gradually. You don’t just come up with a new way of doing things overnight when you do not have the capacity to ensure that it happens. So, it is important that our policymakers are knowledgeable and consult widely before coming up with any policy or legal framework, in the case of legislators. Because sometimes they come up with things that are inconceivable.”
Rafsanjani emphasised the need to always do a proper needs assessment and ensure that there is adequate manpower to carry them out.
With multidimensional poverty affecting 63 per cent of the Nigerian population – about 133 million people, Rafsanjani noted that the policy, if implemented, would exacerbate the existing educational challenges and further marginalise vulnerable populations, pushing more children out-of-school, and worsening the country’s already dire human development indicators.
Specifically, he emphasised that the policy would disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, such as rural dwellers and indigent children, as distant exam centres would further complicate their already challenging circumstances.
“This policy will affect the lives of many Nigerians who are struggling. Most of these children could not even afford to go to exam centres because their parents don’t have the money to give them. Now, you’re going to take them further away from their destination. Who pays for that? You don’t just create difficult situations because you don’t have that problem. And your children are not even schooling in Nigeria. Or even if they are, they are not schooling in public schools,” he added.
The CISLAC boss was, however, countered by a schoolteacher, Vincent Otolo, who argued that both exams should transition from paper to CBT, considering the advancement in technology.
Otolo, who teaches in one of the Federal Government Colleges in the North Central, highlighted Nigeria’s potential to adapt, revealing that the Federal Ministry of Education recently trained over 6,000 teachers on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The Computer Science tutor also downplayed concerns about technical issues, noting that such glitches are common worldwide, even in advanced countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.
However, he emphasised the need for the necessary infrastructure, manpower, and expertise to be put in place before making the switch.
According to him, WAEC and NECO are long overdue for computer-based tests.
“In fact, WAEC is way over 40 years old, and coming at a time like this, I think it is necessary that we switch to CBT. We just, however, need to put the necessary infrastructure, manpower and expertise in place. Once these things are done, with regular practice, preparation and planning, I’m sure the Nigerian educational system can comfortably switch.
“And I feel the JAMB issue is not a unique thing. It happens everywhere in the world. It happened in the UK, the U.S., and other countries of the world. It’s a machine, and when not properly prepared, planned or programmed, it will malfunction, of course.”
On his part, a public affairs analyst, Ifeanyi Nwoko, suggested that JAMB should be used as a testing ground to perfect the computer-based examination system before introducing it to WAEC and NECO.
Nwoko pointed out that once the system is refined and perfected with the involvement of government and relevant agencies, it can then be expanded to other examination bodies.
Considering what happened during the conduct of the UTME, Nwoko said the system should be perfected before migrating both WAEC and NECO to full CBT testing.
“When we are sure that we have attained perfection, then we can begin to incorporate other examination bodies,” he argued.
Reacting, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) welcomed the development, noting that some higher institutions in Nigeria have transitioned to computer-based testing (CBT) exams.
NANS National Public Relations Officer, Samson Adeyemi, tasked the government to be proactive and allow sufficient time to address potential technical and human errors, considering the country’s limited internet coverage, high poverty level and large student population.
“While the idea of full CBT testing is a good one, the implementation process should be carefully considered,” he stated.
Adeyemi also pointed out that the timeframe should be looked into, and the process should not be rushed.
“If the policy will be covering millions of students, then we should have a proper breakdown of time so that when there are issues, we will have enough time to review them,” Adeyemi added.
