The immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has blamed parents for the persistent menace of examination malpractice in Nigeria, describing their involvement in helping their children cheat as the most painful experience of his 10-year tenure at the examination body.
Oloyede said it was heartbreaking to witness parents deliberately introducing their children and wards to criminal behaviour through organised examination malpractice, warning that such actions were destroying the future of the younger generation.
The former JAMB boss spoke on Sunday during a live interview on THISDAY Live aired on Arise Television, barely days after handing over the leadership of the examination body to his successor, Prof. Segun Aina.
Oloyede, who served as JAMB registrar from August 2016 until August 2026, said contrary to widespread assumptions, candidates were often not the masterminds of examination fraud.
According to him, parents remain the major drivers of the malpractice culture.
“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,” he 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.”
The former registrar disclosed that he often became emotional whenever evidence emerged showing the extent to which parents orchestrated cheating during examinations.
“Every time I was confronted with the reality of what parents are doing, most of the time, I became very emotional about it,” he said.
“I kept asking myself how people could hate themselves and their future to that extent. Even if you have deficiencies, you should not transfer those deficiencies to the next generation.”
Reflecting on his decade-long administration, Oloyede said his years at JAMB were largely fulfilling, except for the recurring challenge of confronting examination malpractice fuelled by parents.
“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 through examination malpractice,” he added.
Oloyede formally handed over the affairs of JAMB on Friday to Prof. Segun Aina, a professor of Computer Engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in May as the board’s sixth registrar.
Expressing confidence in his successor, Oloyede said Aina’s expertise in computer engineering would enable him to deploy more advanced technology to strengthen the conduct of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and further improve the integrity of the board’s operations.
He expressed optimism that the new registrar would surpass his achievements by leveraging digital innovations to tackle examination fraud and enhance service delivery.
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