LAGOS, Nigeria — Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, don talk say high failure rate for 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) show say unaffordable malpractice measures dey work. Dis matter come as JAMB release figures wey show say out of 1,955,069 candidates, only about 420,000 score above 200. This mean say more than 78% fail to meet the 200-mark threshold.
Alausa talk am during Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday, and e add say this decline in performance reflect say examination malpractice don fall as JAMB don tighten security protocols. “That’s a big concern, and it’s a reflection of exams being done the proper way,” the minister talk. “JAMB dey use computer-based testing, and dem don put strong security measures, so cheating don reduce mostly,” he add.
Upon assumption of office, Alausa do full review of Nigeria’s examination system. He announce say WAEC and NECO go start transition to computer-based testing by November 2025, first with objective papers. The full CBT model, wey include essay sections, go start by May/June 2026.
“We have to use technology to fight this fraud,” Alausa talk. “Too many ‘miracle centres’ dey operate, and e no make sense. People dey cheat during WAEC and NECO exams, but when dem come face JAMB, cheating hard. Na so disparity dey show. E dey sad,” he add. He also talk say exam malpractice dey ruin academic integrity and dey demoralize hard-working students.
Alausa go further say, “The worst part of cheating na say e dey make good students lazy. If person dey prepare for WAEC or NECO and e know say some classmates dey cheat, you think sey e go still study hard? No, e go wan join dem. Na so we dey corrupt good students, and we suppose stop am.” He assure say the ministry go continue to use technology-driven solutions to bring back credibility for Nigeria’s examination processes.
Meanwhile, former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, don react to the education issues for Nigeria. E talk say the UTME results show deep-rooted challenges for the educational system. Obi blame the failure rate on years of neglect and bad investment for education sector. “The latest JAMB results show say we dey suffer consequences of decades of underinvestment for education, wey suppose dey central to our national development plans,” Obi talk.
Obi come compare Nigeria with other countries, wey don progress fast. “Bangladesh don now surpass Nigeria in key areas of development and Human Development Index (HDI),” he say. “While Nigeria get about 2 million students enrolled in universities, Bangladesh national university alone don gather over 3.4 million students.”
Obi clear say education no be social service but strategic investment. “E dey critical for national development and the best tool to pull people out of poverty.” He call on government to “invest aggressively in education if we serious about building better Nigeria.”
Parents for Lagos don also show disappointment over the low performance of candidates. Some parents tell the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) say the low result fit link to many problems. A parent, Mr. Oluwaseun Oluwajuwon, talk say, “Students no dey participate for academic matters well, many dey prefer social media distraction.”
Another parent, Mrs. Saidat Oduwole, dey concerned about the quality of education, say economic issues dey affect access to textbooks and learning resources. Mrs. Ifunanya Bello, a businesswoman, mention say many teachers no dey qualified to teach. “Nigeria need qualified teachers to ensure children fit get quality education,” she say.
Educationist, Mrs. Adetoro Bello, talk social media dey distract students from studies, contributing to low performance. Other parents like Mr. Olufisayo Anthony dey call on JAMB to fix technical issues wey some candidates face during the exams, while Mr. Stephen Olatunbosun say many candidates no dey serious with their studies, focusing on distractions instead of academic works.
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