The recent rescheduling of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is whipping up comments and concerns that are genuine.
Candidates and their parents have been left frustrated, confused, and emotionally drained.
For some, the lack of timely communication and the burden of early morning exams amidst ongoing WAEC papers have added to the already overwhelming academic pressure.
During an interview with Omolara Adebayo, Olusegun Koiki, a journalist with Daily Independent Newspaper, said the experience was traumatic for his son, who broke down in tears after receiving what he believes was an incorrect score and later had to face another exam with little notice or preparation.
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How did your son react emotionally and physically to the stress of waking up so early again for a rescheduled exam he got late information about?
My son is in a boarding school. I broke the news of his JAMB result to him on Sunday when I went to the school with his mum.
But, surprisingly for the first time, my son challenged me that what they alleged he scored was not his right score.
They actually said he scored 159 in the exams. He told me confidently that he should score above 200 in the exams.
He broke down in tears uncontrollably. Despite this, he still searched his mother’s phone to confirm the score, but he insisted what was released was not his result.
When exactly did you receive the rescheduling notice, and through what medium (SMS, email, school, etc.)?
Actually, it was my son that received the rescheduling notice. He searched through the JAMB website for his name, and he was among those rescheduled for today, Friday, May 16, 2025.
There was no text message or email notice from JAMB for him.
He just took the bull by the horn to search for his name all by himself.
So, he left the school on Thursday evening to return home for the same exams.
Unfortunately, again he was scheduled for 6:30am today.
Did the JAMB officials provide any explanation or apology for the repeated 6:30am schedule despite previous complaints?
None from JAMB. Up until now, we have had no reason or contact from JAMB on why it rescheduled the exams for 6:30.a.m.
He and the mum had to leave home as early as 4:am today to meet up with the exam time.
Was there any support or guidance from the school or JAMB to help your son prepare again on such short notice?
Not at all! He’s all on his own. To your tent oh Israel.
He could not even study when he came back from school on Thursday and woke up again as early as 3am to prepare for the 4am departure for a 6:30am exam.
Meanwhile, he’s still writing the WAEC exams. But he was lucky that he doesn’t offer Agricultural Science, which is on WAEC timetable today.
What safety concerns did you face while leaving home at 4am, especially considering the security situation in Lagos?
I was very apprehensive when the mum told me yesterday about the timing. Because of the nature of my job, I only go home on weekends, most of the time on Fridays or Saturdays. I got the 6:30am news at past 10pm on Thursday.
Because of the high insecurity in our clime, I advised them not to go today, but if he didn’t go, when else will he sit for the exams?
So, I kept on monitoring their movement till they got to LASPOTECH (now University of Technology, Lagos) at 5:55am. It was a bit emotional for me.
Do you know of other parents or candidates who experienced similar scheduling issues today?
Yes, but some of them are scheduled for Saturday in the afternoon.
What suggestions would you offer to JAMB to improve this scheduling system moving forward?
My advice to JAMB is that this life is not warfront. Officially in Nigeria, work starts at 8am and for education, I think it’s 9am.
JAMB should retrace itself and behave more like a humane organisation that is dealing with human beings of different age grades and exposures.
Some of us travel out of this country on a few occasions and we know how they do things in those countries.
Human beings are treated with respect, not like animals.
Even animals have rights, but in Nigeria, every government official can’t be queried or questioned. It’s a case of master-slave relationship.
These children and their parents are not animals or second-class citizens in their own country and should not be so treated.
Was your son able to sit for the exam eventually, and how do you think the rushed and chaotic experience may affect his performance?
He sat for the exams today.
I already asked him of the outcome on the phone, but he didn’t exhibit much confidence again unlike the first time.
He told me the exams were a bit tougher than the last time, but he said faintly, ‘I think I will pass it.’ The morale is really low.
Sincerely, if he doesn’t perform well this time around, I won’t scold him.
Rather, I will encourage him to do more the next time, hoping that JAMB will not “jam” us again. JAMB is a morale killer.
Are there any long-term emotional or academic impacts this might have on your child, especially regarding his trust in the education system?
Definitely yes.
He’s still a young boy, but I, as a journalist myself, will encourage him to put this behind him and continue to concentrate on his ongoing WAEC.
Have You Read: JAMB: Teenage Girl Commits Suicide In Lagos After Scoring 190
In fact, the journey to this mess started when JAMB posted him from Lagos to Taraba State to write his mock JAMB exams.
Very laughable. He couldn’t sit for the mock exams despite the fact that we paid for it and registered early. What fraud can be more than that?
How has this experience shaped your opinion of how education and exams are managed in Nigeria?
It shows that Nigeria is not ready for digital education and unfortunately, we are already failing the next generation of Nigerians not to have the required confidence in Nigeria and its educational system.
When I sat for JAMB in 1992, I personally went to the JAMB office at Ikoyi or so then. I bought the form, filled it and submitted it to the same place.
The result was out a few months later. Without doubt, I accepted my scores and I moved on.
