“The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult” –Winston Churchill
Since his appointment as the chief executive of the 47-year-old examination board, he has been in the news for the right reasons.
As a scholar of repute, he has changed the face of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, JAMB, as the examination body, has operated a seamless examination and admission process to universities and other tertiary institutions and earned more accolades for himself.
What is more, he has generated more revenue to the Federal Government more than his predecessors though it was not supposed to be a commercial entity.
Between 1978 -2016 when he was appointed, the body remitted a paltry fifty million naira (N50 million) to the Federation account contrary to the sum of N7.8 billion he has remitted between 2016 when he mounted the saddle and today.
He has practically turned the agency to a money-spinning body for the Federal Government.
Professor Ishaq Oloyede, the former Chairman Committee of Vice Chancellors of Universities between 2007 and October 15 2012 stood taller than all his predecessors, making his appointment one of the few former President Muhammadu Buhari got right.
But this year, in spite of all accolades poured on him by most Nigerians and especially his admirers in the education sector and the general public, Nigeria happened to him.
And he wept!
Oloyede wept not because he was put in the dock for stealing public funds but because the conduct of this year’s UTME portrayed his failure and that of the JAMB to deploy resources-both men and material to give hope to over 379, 000 out of almost 2 million candidates who applied for, sat for the CBT based examination to universities but which technology glitch frustrated their admission and consequently put in dire straits.
By this calculation, it means JAMB failed to provide for more than 30 percent of the 2 million candidates who bought forms, study hard but couldn’t test their ability.
Yes, the results for this year witnesses a dismal performance compared to previous years, a ready excuse by those who failed was provided by the avoidable technological glitch suffered by the candidates.
Why did the technology fail to accommodate the students among the 2 million who sat for the exams?
Why did this year’s planning deny the unfortunate students the opportunity to prove their mettle in the exams?
Having run JAMB for over eight years, how did Oloyede and his men rely on old methods to allow technology glitch put sand in their face and allow many students to commit suicide?
Suicide remains double tragedy for students and parents who have spent fortunes on their education all as a result of the glitch?
Initially, Oloyede dismissed the poor conduct based on his men’s report from the field but when he addressed the media early last week the avalanche of poor reports from the field overwhelmed him such that he cried and admitted that he operated a system that not only denied the hundreds of thousands chance to prove their worth, it caused casualties in many homes; dimmed the hope of hundreds of thousand students and parents, set back the body and ultimately set him back years before he assumed position from the Ivory Tower.
The conduct of the 2025 UTME examination portrayed the false impression of infallibility his chorus singers especially media men of same fate who praised him to high heavens when they are supposed to have pointed out his failures and allowed him perform better.
In spite of accolades from his Ivory Tower colleagues and faith based media praise singers and the gullible public, the fact remains that this year’s UTME portrayed his lack of preparation to meet the growing demand of the two million students.
Today, it is quite obvious that the technology deployed by JAMB and its management have no capacity to meet them.
Failure of over 379, 000 students out of almost two million students to write exams is an indication that the JAMB management has exhausted its capacity to handle the exams as per today’s student population.
He could even consider bowing out now that the ovation is loudest.
The life and progress of students should not be sacrificed on the altar of returning billions of naira to government covers every year when such should have been made to improve its technology, reduce stress of students and parents and prevent glitches with its attendant results as experienced this year.
It could as well be a year of turning point for Professor Oloyedes career.
Since JAMB is not a profit-making venture, the priority of Oloyede should not only be to prevent examination malpractices, corruption but also to improve efficiency; credibility and faith in the education sector.
With this year’s experience and the reaction it has generated, Is it not time for the Federal Government to take a second look at centralisation of university admissions and decentralized the process as it is happening in other sectors?
Has the growing student’s population in the country not overwhelmed the existing structures such that exams should now be conducted by universities as was the practice before the creation of JAMB in 1978?
This should be done without compromising quality of education in the higher institutions.
Should JAMB not be restructured along regional lines with regulatory framework to ensure standards are not compromised by the regional bodies to meet national standard?
Nigeria has over the past decades happened to octopus service power provider bodies like ECN, NEPA, PHCN bodies which over time has become the burying ground of seasoned talents and administrators.
Oloyede’s failure in spite of his sterling performances of the past six years is enough reason to believe demands of JAMB has outgrown its structural capacities hence need to decentralize its operation.
If Oloyede is not considering resignation at his peak such that his image is not further dented, he should not fall shy of recommending the unbundling of JAMB to the government now that his voice could still be heard.
Anything short of a complete overhaul of the body which has demonstrated lack of capacity to meet the yearnings of students and parents is akin to postponing the evil day.
