JAMB Meets WAEC: How Nigeria’s Education Is Failing
This year, I have penned four separate articles addressing the decline of the education sector in the country, or what is left of it. The unfortunate reality is that with each day, month, and year, this sector sinks deeper into despair while the nation’s leaders remain apathetic towards education. I care deeply about education, as any sensible Nigerian should, which motivates me to keep advocating for improved management of the sector. I am deeply concerned about how education is being managed and the extensive consequences this has for the nation’s future.
Are we not setting the nation up for failure?
Nigeria is the only nation I am aware of—and I have lived, worked, or traveled around the world—that keeps jeopardizing its future and somehow holds the belief that it will eventually become a great nation.
It is astonishing how little regard the country’s leaders have for education and, by extension, its young population. Just when you believe that these leaders cannot inflict further damage on education and the youth, they surprise you with antics that will disturb your already weary nerves.
WAEC’s engineered mass failure
This is exemplified by the current farce at the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) concerning the release of the 2025 WAEC results. What should have been a simple release of examination results has once again been mishandled and turned into a frustrating spectacle by the examination authority. It appears that WAEC is intent on surpassing the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which, in May of this year, made a complete mess of its placement examinations for tertiary institutions. JAMB’s inadequate management of its examinations and the subsequent release of results contributed to the unfortunate death of one of its candidates.
Last week, WAEC announced the results for the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination. The results revealed that approximately 800,000 candidates, or 38.32% of the 1,969,313 students who sat for the exam about three months ago, failed to secure the necessary credits required for university admission. In other words, over a million WAEC candidates did not pass the examination. This means that WAEC has halted the educational advancement of more than a million young Nigerians. Those candidates who ‘failed’ will need to retake the exams. Many families will have to find funds to register for the exams, which will further strain their already limited finances.
Stakeholders have indicated that these results are the worst in a decade. Unsurprisingly, the results sparked considerable criticism and complaints, prompting the examination board to conduct a review. Following the backlash, WAEC promptly closed its result checker portal. “WAEC hereby notifies the public that the result checker portal at waecdirect.org is temporarily shut down due to technical issues,” the organization stated.
WAEC and JAMB: the inseparable twins
This is a familiar scene; Nigerians witnessed this drama recently, just three months ago. It was a similar storyline followed by JAMB when it released its results, leading to widespread dissatisfaction with the outcomes. The sequence was as follows: a poorly conducted examination; the announcement of results; mass failures; complaints from students and parents; JAMB suddenly recalling the “glitches” that occurred during the examination, which warranted a review of the results; the technical issues were conveniently assigned to service providers engaged by JAMB; and after the review, a new result was issued, which increased the pass rate.
WAEC, determined not to be overshadowed by its counterpart examination body, has followed a similar path. The exam was conducted with an equal lack of professionalism. In one notable case during the examination, students were still taking tests late into the night, with some having to rely on lanterns to complete their papers. Holding exams under such circumstances inevitably leads to failure. Thus, it shouldn’t be shocking to Nigerians. WAEC has also cited an “error” as a reason for the reassessment of the released results.
The examination body stated to Nigerians, “To combat examination malpractice, the Council implemented an innovation (paper serialization) already adopted by a national examination body. It is also important to mention that this aligns with best assessment practices. The paper serialization was conducted for mathematics, English language, biology, and economics. However, an internal process following the release of results uncovered some technical issues.” The likely result of this review is a significant improvement in the pass rate. Many were not surprised to see the review indicate a rise in the pass rate from 38.32% to 62.9%.
When will our leaders prioritize education?
This recent incident, while regrettable, is indicative of the severe decline in our educational system and underscores the neglect of the vibrant youth population, who are the supposed future leaders, by the country’s authorities. Annual budget allocations for the education sector continue to be dismally low at both the federal and state levels. These inadequate allocations have resulted in a dire situation: crumbling infrastructure, outdated curricula, unmotivated educators, particularly teachers, insufficiently trained staff, nonexistent laboratories, antiquated teaching methods, and numerous other issues.
Instead of addressing these concerns, the government has left the sector to private entities that have since turned every aspect of education in the country into a commercial venture. Nowadays, accessing quality education comes with a steep price, effectively excluding more than half of the population who struggle to meet basic needs. Nigeria holds the highest number of out-of-school children globally, with approximately 20 million, or 15% of the world’s total. This is alarming. However, it appears to be of little concern to our leaders.
The government is a leader in the education sector
Globally, governments take a leading role in education, recognizing its fundamental importance as a cornerstone for economic growth and development. Consequently, governments are the primary source of funding for this sector while also serving as regulators to guarantee education is accessible, available, and affordable. Unfortunately, this is not the situation in Nigeria. Private entities primarily operate the sector and are therefore largely driven by profit.
Should we be upset when outsiders dismiss our certificates?
The recent inconsistencies from the two key examination bodies, JAMB and WAEC, raise doubts about the credibility of this year’s exams conducted by both institutions. Furthermore, it puts the reliability of the examinations carried out by these bodies and their released results into question. This does not reflect well on us; it certainly hampers our image as a nation that is serious about competing globally in education, science and technology, and other vital economic sectors.
We often feel upset when our certificates are deemed inferior and rejected by other countries.
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