Alex Onyia, a prominent education advocate and founder of Educare, has brought public attention to a series of complaints from candidates who sat for the ongoing JAMB resit. In a post made via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Onyia detailed the challenges reported by students, sparking heated debate on the credibility and management of the rescheduled examination exercise.
“Here are the top issues raised by candidates that participated in JAMB resit today,” Onyia wrote, listing concerns ranging from technical malfunctions to administrative failures. According to him, “Many students mentioned that the questions were unusually hard,” noting that candidates felt the level of difficulty was inconsistent with the original examination. This raised concerns of fairness, especially for those already struggling with exam anxiety.
Another major issue highlighted was time pressure. “Not enough time to complete all questions,” Onyia quoted multiple candidates as saying. This complaint appeared repeatedly across responses, with many resit candidates claiming that even those who were academically strong found it hard to pace themselves effectively within the limited timeframe. Several users noted that the short time given per question was not realistic given the complexity of the problems.
Onyia also called out the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over persistent technical problems. “There were concerns about technical glitches during the exam,” he said, explaining that candidates across different centers reported JAMB system errors, including delayed login times, frozen screens, and unresponsive submission buttons. “Some systems kept crashing or lagging mid-exam, causing panic and loss of time,” he added.
The issue of unequal difficulty levels was also raised. Onyia stated, “There’s a perception that some candidates had easier or harder sets of questions,” suggesting a lack of uniformity in test administration. Students feared that the randomization process might have resulted in significant discrepancies in question difficulty, which could unfairly impact results. This added to the general sense of confusion and mistrust among test-takers.
According to Onyia, the situation was further compounded by poor coordination at several CBT centers. “Complaints about disorder and delays at some CBT centers” were common, he posted. Reports included candidates waiting hours to begin the test, others being misinformed about their exam start times, and in some cases, insufficient seating or working computer terminals. “It seemed like some centers were not prepared to handle the resit,” one candidate was quoted as saying.
Finally, Onyia stressed the need for JAMB to listen and respond to these complaints. “Candidates who had issues felt left out or ignored,” he wrote, citing concerns from students who were not offered makeup sessions or support despite experiencing power cuts or internet interruptions. “We need accountability and fairness in such high-stakes exams,” Onyia concluded, urging the examination body to investigate the issues and take corrective action before future exams.
