WAEC, JAMB Technical Glitches Raise Concerns Over Nigeria’s Education Integrity – Stakeholders
Story written by Peterson September 1,2025
Education stakeholders have expressed deep concern over recurring technical failures involving two of Nigeria’s key examination bodies—the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC)—warning that such lapses are damaging the credibility of the country’s educational system.
Both JAMB and WAEC recorded major glitches in their 2025 examinations, leading to confusion, withdrawal of results, and subsequent re-releases that have triggered widespread criticism.
JAMB Results Controversy
JAMB was the first to be hit earlier this year when scrambled results and mass failures forced the board to order resits for some candidates. According to JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, the errors were linked to an unapplied software patch on servers in Lagos and the South-East, which misprocessed responses for nearly 380,000 candidates.
He confirmed that 65 centres (206,610 candidates) in Lagos and 92 centres (173,387 candidates) across the South-East were affected. The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education later attributed the error to human mistakes rather than purely technical failure.
WAEC’s Technical Breakdown
In August, WAEC released the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, initially announcing a mass failure in English Language. However, the Council soon admitted that technical bugs tied to its new paper serialisation security feature had distorted the results for some candidates.
Head of Public Affairs, WAEC National Office, Moyosola Adesina, explained that a post-release review revealed inconsistencies, forcing the council to temporarily suspend its result-checking portal. Updated results were later uploaded after corrections were made.
The Federal Ministry of Education praised WAEC’s transparency in addressing the glitch and assured students that the updated results would be credible. The Ministry also announced plans for both WAEC and NECO to begin phased adoption of Computer-Based Testing (CBT) from November 2026 to curb malpractice and restore confidence in the system.
Stakeholders React
Despite official reassurances, parents, students, and education experts have condemned the recurring lapses. Some parents described WAEC’s decision to review results as “inefficient” and a sign of deeper systemic rot.
A student who initially scored D7 in English but later saw his result upgraded to B3 after WAEC’s correction, said:
“Even though I’m relieved, WAEC must step up. If this continues, the credibility of our certificates will be destroyed.”
Tech experts also warned that without independent audits, quality assurance, and stronger accountability measures, Nigeria’s education sector risks further reputational damage.
The Bigger Picture
Stakeholders insist that unless JAMB and WAEC overhaul their systems and adopt international best practices, the recurring glitches could continue to jeopardize the academic future of millions of Nigerian students.
