In the first quarter of my stewardship as the sixth Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), I have had the opportunity to confront, understand and begin addressing some of the challenges associated with the operations of an institution entrusted with such a critical national mandate. Beyond the demanding routine of managing an organisation of this magnitude, I have remained conscious of the enormous responsibility that comes with the office and the expectations of millions of Nigerians who depend on the Board’s services.
I remain particularly grateful to my predecessor, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, whose candid insights and invaluable guidance provided me with a clearer understanding of the institutional environment I was assuming responsibility for. Building on this foundation, I developed a roadmap anchored on a simple but compelling conviction: the candidate must remain at the centre of everything we do. I resolved that every available human and technological resource would be deployed to reduce the trauma candidates experience, sustain the credibility for which the Board is known and, ultimately, deepen public trust in its processes.
With this conviction, we hit the ground running. Three months into the journey, I look back with gratitude and satisfaction at the progress we have collectively made and, particularly, the remarkable support and goodwill received from across the education ecosystem.
I am especially grateful for the confidence reposed in me by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and the invaluable support and encouragement of both the Honourable Minister of Education and the Honourable Minister of State for Education. I equally appreciate the commitment of the management and staff of the Board, whose dedication and receptiveness to change have been instrumental to our progress. Beyond JAMB, I acknowledge the cooperation of tertiary institutions, regulatory bodies, professional associations, CBT centre operators, security agencies, the media and our numerous service partners. The breadth of this support has been truly encouraging, and I do not take it for granted. I firmly believe that sustained cooperation and goodwill among these critical stakeholders will remain essential to what I hope will be a successful and impactful tenure.
One area that gives me immense satisfaction is our effort to rescue candidates whose academic and career aspirations have been stalled for years by errors in their admission records, NIN-related discrepancies and other unresolved administrative challenges. Many had been caught in cycles of investigations and procedural bottlenecks without practical solutions. Through targeted interventions, particularly the NIN alignment initiative, we have assisted thousands of affected candidates in resolving these challenges and moving forward with their academic and career aspirations. For me, this represents the very essence of public service: identifying problems, providing solutions and making a tangible difference in people’s lives.
We have also intensified our commitment to responsive customer service. During the period under review, the Board received 52,517 customer service tickets and successfully treated 50,370. Significantly, more than 5,000 outstanding tickets were cleared within my first five days in office. These are not merely administrative statistics; behind every ticket is a candidate, parent or stakeholder seeking assistance. Our responsibility is to ensure that such concerns receive timely attention and practical solutions.
Looking ahead, our next phase of reform will be even more ambitious. We intend to make the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) more purposeful, admission processes more convenient for institutions and our desk officers, and access to the Board’s services significantly easier for the general public. We take the ease of doing business with JAMB seriously and will continue to dismantle unnecessary bottlenecks that make our processes cumbersome.
Our long-term vision is to build an institution whose credibility rests on strong systems, effective partnerships and accountable people, rather than the personality of whoever occupies the office of the Registrar.
Technology will remain a critical vehicle for achieving these objectives. We are determined to reduce unnecessary physical visits and congestion at our offices and service centres by making more services accessible digitally. We will also strengthen the reliability, resilience and security of our digital platforms, recognising that the credibility of our processes increasingly depends on the robustness of the systems that support them. Where challenges arise, we will remain accountable, responsive and committed to finding lasting solutions.
We will equally deepen our relationships with partners and ensure that their legitimate contributions and entitlements receive the attention they deserve. Our vision is an institution where efficiency, fairness, transparency and mutual respect define every engagement.
As we commence preparations for the 2027 UTME, we are working on a number of innovations to improve the conduct of the examination and enhance the overall candidate experience. These changes will be directed at strengthening the system, eliminating avoidable difficulties and further reinforcing the integrity of public examinations in Nigeria. The understanding, cooperation and constructive feedback of all stakeholders will be invaluable as we implement these improvements.
To our staff, I say a big thank you. Your dedication, commitment and willingness to give your best have not gone unnoticed. You are the engine room of this institution, and I deeply appreciate your contributions. We must, however, continue to raise the bar, embrace innovation and place service delivery above routine administrative convenience. Our collective responsibility is to build an institution that is not only efficient today but also capable of sustaining excellence well into the future.
To our candidates, you are the reason we exist. You are at the centre of our mission, and we will continue to make every effort to ensure that accessing our services is less stressful, more convenient and more responsive to your needs. We are determined to build a culture in which every candidate is treated with dignity, empathy and fairness, and every legitimate concern receives the attention it deserves.
Beyond our immediate operational responsibilities, we are conscious of the growing global attention being accorded to Nigerian tertiary institutions. JAMB will pursue initiatives that support this positive development by strengthening the integrity, transparency and international relevance of our admission processes. We will also work towards developing and restructuring our assessment framework to accommodate critical thinking, practical competencies and life skills that align with contemporary global expectations and labour market demands.
Our ambition is to move beyond an examination culture that places excessive emphasis on memorisation to one that recognises and rewards genuine intellectual capacity, problem-solving abilities and the competencies required to thrive in a rapidly changing world. We must continually interrogate what we assess, how we assess it and, ultimately, whether our assessment systems adequately prepare young Nigerians for the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Ultimately, our responsibility is to provide purposeful leadership, formulate sound strategies and ensure that the mandate entrusted to us is achieved with integrity, efficiency and accountability. We will continue to lead the reform process, but its success depends on the collective commitment of our staff, institutions, service partners, candidates and the general public.
Our long-term vision is to build an institution whose credibility rests on strong systems, effective partnerships and accountable people, rather than the personality of whoever occupies the office of the Registrar. This, in my view, is the foundation of sustainable institutional excellence.
The journey has only just begun. The first quarter has provided an opportunity to understand our challenges, consolidate our strengths and lay a foundation for the reforms ahead. The next phase will be about deepening these reforms, consolidating the gains and delivering even greater value to the Nigerian public.
Together, we can build a more credible, efficient and responsive examination and admission system that will serve Nigeria better and earn the confidence of the world.
*Prof. Aina is the Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.
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