The Exam That Fails the Students

How JAMB’s decade long CBT chaos is stealing futures and dodging accountability.

Technical glitches this year, computers crashing the previous year. Mass deduction of 40 marks one year, incredibly low scores in another. What is this? JAMB's glitches have been the talk of the year in Nigeria's education sector.

With Nigeria overflowing with brilliant minds and growing tech talent, it’s baffling– almost insulting– that one of our most important educational systems still can’t get their technology right. Every year, over a million young Nigerians wake up before dawn, with nerves in their belly and dreams in their chest, only to sit for an exam that has consistently failed them more than they have ever failed it.

The system is deeply broken, and we have hidden it behind the facade of CBT (Computer-Based-Test), and told the world that we’ve gone digital. In reality, what we’ve done is set up thousands of teenagers to take a life-defining examination on computers and laptops that crash mid-test, at centers with shaky internet, unstable power supply, and absolutely no backup plan. 

This is not a glitch. It is systemic failure perpetuated over many years.

When CBT was introduced by JAMB almost ten years ago, we were told it was the future. The intention may have been noble, but the execution has been anything but. Every year since its inception, there’s been a new round of students with the same old complaints. 

This year, the scale of the failure was undeniable. Over two million registered for UTME. More than 75% of them “failed”. Not because they didn’t study. Not because they didn’t care. But because, once again, the systems failed– literally and figuratively. Computers shut down mid exam, while others submitted blank scripts. The overall experience was exhausting. 

After an outrage online over the dismal results and technical malfunctions, JAMB began its official response with the now notorious remark: ”man proposes, God disposes.”, a tone-deaf response subtly deflecting blame for failing in its principal function. 

Public pressure drove JAMB to admit that there had been technical issues in some centers. The Board hastily announced that the affected students will retake the exams– with less than 48 hours notice and no assurance that the problems had been resolved. The timing was more damage control than a sincere attempt to fix a failing system. 

This is not about a one-time glitch. This is about neglect. It’s about refusing to prioritise students in a system that exists for them. It is about the quiet harm being done to thousands of Nigerian students whose only crime is daring to dream of tertiary education.

But maybe the biggest irony of all is this: in spite of the stress, JAMB is not the final hurdle for Nigerian students seeking admission into tertiary institutions. Students still have to sit for post-UTME exams set by individual universities.

So, what exactly is “joint” about this Board? If tertiary institutions don’t trust JAMB’s results, why should anyone? Nigerians are not asking for perfection. They want, and deserve, intentionality, dignity, systems that work, and leaders who own their mistakes. Nigerians want a country that doesn’t leave its brightest behind because of a technical glitch. 

For now, JAMB is not an exam. It’s more of a gamble. And students deserve better odds.