Ishaq Oloyede, the immediate past registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has described the involvement of parents in examination malpractice as the most distressing chapter of his decade-long leadership of the board.
Oloyede made the disclosure on Sunday, August 2, during a live programme on Arise Television, monitored by Legit.ng. His comments come days after he handed over to Segun Aina, whom President Bola Tinubu appointed as JAMB's sixth registrar in May 2026.
Parents are the real problem - Oloyede
The former registrar did not mince words when assigning responsibility for the culture of cheating that has plagued Nigeria's Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). He insisted that candidates are often not the architects of the fraud; rather, the adults who should be guiding them are the ones orchestrating wrongdoing.
"The most painful period of my experience in JAMB has to do with the level of involvement of parents in the organisation of examination malpractice," Oloyede said.
"They are introducing their wards and children to the world of crime. I think most of the candidates are not problematic. They are not the problem. The problem is the parents."
He acknowledged that the reality of what he witnessed regularly moved him emotionally during his tenure. "Every time I was confronted with the reality of what parents are doing, most of the time, I became very emotional about it," he recalled.
'How can people hate their futures so much?'
Oloyede expressed bewilderment at the willingness of parents to sacrifice their children's long-term integrity for short-term academic gain. He questioned how any individual could deliberately embed criminal behaviour in the next generation.
"How on earth will people hate themselves and their futures to this level. Even if you have deficiency, you won't want to pass the deficiency to the next generation," he said.
Despite the difficult moments, the immediate-past registrar described his overall time at JAMB in positive terms. "For me, it was a fine period. The only lowest period was when I confronted parents over involvement in the planning and introduction of their children and wards into crime," he stated.
Ten years at the helm of JAMB
Oloyede was first appointed JAMB registrar on August 9, 2016, by former President Muhammadu Buhari. He was reappointed for a second term in August 2021, serving a total of ten years before stepping down in 2026.
His exit marks the end of an era that saw JAMB consolidate its use of technology in the conduct of the UTME, which remains the gateway for millions of Nigerian students seeking admission to universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education each year.
Oloyede backs successor Segun Aina
In May 2026, President Bola Tinubu appointed Segun Aina, a professor of computer engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, as the sixth registrar of JAMB. The appointment followed Oloyede's exit after a ten-year tenure.
Oloyede expressed strong confidence in Aina's ability to build on the existing reforms. He noted that Aina's background in computer engineering places him in a prime position to further integrate technology into the administration of the UTME.
The former registrar said he expects his successor to surpass his own achievements in using innovation to enhance the examination process. He pointed to Aina's technical expertise as a clear advantage for the board going forward.
JAMB mop-up exam 2026
In a separate development, Legit.ng earlier reported that JAMB conducted its 2026 UTME mop-up examination for candidates who encountered challenges during the main exercise. Participants were said to have applauded the board's commitment to transparency and inclusiveness throughout the process.
JAMB said the positive feedback from candidates reinforces public confidence in its integrity and the credibility of its examinations. The successful conduct of the mop-up test underlined the board's resolve to ensure no qualified candidate is left behind due to technical or logistical obstacles.
As the new registrar settles into office, stakeholders in the education sector will be watching to see how Aina balances the fight against malpractice with the deployment of emerging technologies, while also tackling the parental complicity that his predecessor identified as the deepest wound of his tenure.
