Following the mounting pressure from education stakeholders, parents, and civil society groups, who were loud in condemning the depressing performance of candidates in this year’s examination, the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, did something unprecedented yesterday. Yes, unprecedented in the sense that, for the first time, a public officer in charge of a powerful arm of Government has come publicly to admit error, under which he took responsibility and had emotionally apologized. At a well-attended press conference, Professor Ishaq Oloyede went sobbing because he felt JAMB, under his watch, had failed some students unjustifiably.
“As Registrar of JAMB, I hold myself personally responsible, including for the negligence of the service provider, and I unreservedly apologise for it and the trauma that it has subjected affected Nigerians to, directly and indirectly. We apologise and assure you that this incident represents a significant setback for the Board’s reputation. We remain committed to emerging stronger in our core values of transparency, fairness, and equity. It is our culture to admit error because we know that despite the best of our efforts, we are human, we are not perfect.
The only consolation we have in this case is that it is just one of the two service providers that did not do well by uploading improperly, but it was not a case of glitches or sabotage. I understand that there are three powerful expressions which contain one word, two words and three words respectively. They are please, thank you, and I am sorry. So, I appeal to the candidates and those affected by the error of our system to accept this explanation as the truth of the matter without embellishment, please. I apologise and take full responsibility not just in words,”- Professor Ishaq Oloyede.
Indeed, this is one apology that deserves ample applause because, in Nigeria, despite the theoretical belief that trust is the most valuable currency in governance, such trust in public institutions has been gradually destroyed. Those in whose hands trust is placed see it as a birthright to abuse such trust, and because there are no consequences, such abuses have become the norm. For a student whose ambition is to see a brighter tomorrow, no challenge can come bigger than an examination.
More so, in a country where the Government is promising to improve the ease of doing business in every sector, including the education sector. The ease of writing and getting graded in an examination is the biggest ease for the student, whose major wish is the acquisition of education. As if we are cursed, in Nigeria today, some of our leaders tend to cultivate a culture of arrogance in governance, such that they see apology as an abomination, even when they err.
A well-educated populace is better equipped to understand complex regulations, adapt to new technologies, and manage businesses effectively. So, a higher level of education can lead to a more ethical and transparent business culture, which can contribute to a more predictable and stable business environment. It is in the pursuit of this ambition that the Nigerian government is currently organizing a retreat, which is focusing on improving the business environment through collaboration and interagency cooperation. The retreat involves high-level engagement with agency heads, key stakeholders, members of the diplomatic corps, and business environment collaborators.
Education significantly impacts the ease of doing business by developing a skilled workforce, fostering innovation, and promoting a more efficient and competitive business environment. It is my hope that the retreat will take into account the exemplary action of Professor Ishaq Oloyede, and accord a special applaud around this special apology. It’s an apology that would resonate with the core values of JAMB.
The major reason for the establishment of JAMB was to ease the burden for entry into universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education in Nigeria by conducting matriculation examinations. This was done by the Federal Military Government in 1978. Since then, JAMB has been operating as a vehicle or horse, on whose back students must ride, to gain admission to the University. Therefore, any error that would thwart, intentionally or unintentionally, the ambition of the student to achieve this goal of gaining admission in the university of his or her choice would be depressingly frustrating. For JAMB to admit that their errors during the initial examination have negatively affected the performance of some candidates means Nigeria is not short of leaders with conscience. And they deserve special accolades.
