Education stakeholders have expressed deep concern over recent technical failures involving Nigeria’s two leading external examination bodies, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). Many described the incidents as unfortunate and damaging to the country’s academic integrity.
Both JAMB and WAEC examinations in 2025 were marred by what officials initially described as “technical glitches,” resulting in confusion, the withdrawal of results, and subsequent releases of corrected versions. The irregularities have raised serious questions about the reliability of Nigeria’s standardized testing systems, with stakeholders warning that continued lapses could erode public trust in the fairness of critical academic assessments.
The first major disruption occurred during the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. JAMB was forced to order resits for some candidates after scrambled results and widespread failure were traced to an unapplied software patch on servers in Lagos and the South-East zones. Approximately 379,997 students were affected across 157 centres in both regions. Registrar Is-haq Oloyede confirmed that the errors were discovered on the second day of the examinations, prompting immediate corrective measures.
The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education later attributed the failures to human error rather than technological breakdown. Committee Chairman Oboku Oforji stressed that preliminary investigations revealed lapses in oversight during the examination process.
WAEC faced a similar crisis after releasing the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination results in August. A mass failure in English Language was initially reported, but the Council later admitted that technical issues tied to its newly introduced paper serialisation security feature had caused inaccuracies in the released scores. The affected subjects included Mathematics, English, Biology and Economics.
In a statement, WAEC spokesperson Moyosola Adesina apologised to the public, noting that the Council identified bugs during a post-release review, which led to temporary suspension of the result checker portal. Candidates were advised to re-check their results once updates were made available. The Federal Ministry of Education later confirmed that the issue had been resolved and commended WAEC’s swift response and transparency.
Director of Press at the Ministry, Folasade Boriowo, said the government remained committed to restoring credibility in the system. She announced that, beginning November 2026, both WAEC and the National Examinations Council will commence a phased rollout of computer-based testing for objective papers. According to her, the reform is designed to curb malpractice, prevent question leaks and safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s external examinations.
Despite these assurances, reactions from parents, students, and experts have been strongly critical. Some parents argued that reviewing already released results was unfair and a sign of inefficiency, while others called for broader reforms to strengthen the education sector and improve teacher quality. Students also shared mixed experiences, with one noting that his English Language grade shifted from a D7 to a B3 after WAEC’s correction—an outcome that he described as fortunate but worrying for the credibility of the council.
Technology experts have cautioned that without accountability and systemic reforms, more students risk being failed by the system rather than by their own performance. Echezona Chinedu, a software consultant, urged JAMB and WAEC to institute independent audits, adopt transparent result systems, and strengthen quality assurance mechanisms.
“These are external examination bodies tasked with shaping the academic future of Nigeria’s children,” he said. “They must implement holistic oversight and ensure readiness for computer-based testing to protect public trust and deliver accurate results.”
The incidents have placed renewed pressure on education authorities to pursue comprehensive reforms that will not only address immediate glitches but also restore confidence in Nigeria’s most vital academic institutions.
