An educationist based in Osun State, Architect Goke Omigbodun, has called on the Federal Government to scrap the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and return to a decentralized university admission process in Nigeria.
Omigbodun, who is also a trustee of Olive Branches Schools in Osogbo, argued that the current centralized structure of Nigeria’s tertiary education admission system undermines meritocracy and fairness.
“I believe strongly in the restructuring of Nigeria, with a devolution of powers to lower levels,” he said. “We should not have a single examination body determining university admissions for the entire country, especially when some candidates are admitted with lower scores from certain regions, while others with higher scores are denied admission.”
He maintained that universities should be given the autonomy to determine their own admission processes rather than relying solely on a unified national examination.
Omigbodun’s statement comes in the wake of public outcry over the mass failure recorded in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He, however, dismissed the concerns, describing them as exaggerated.
According to him, there is no significant deviation in this year’s examination results compared to previous years.
“There’s no major difference in the way the examination was conducted this year compared to last year,” he said. “In fact, more candidates scored above 300 this year than last year, so the narrative of mass failure doesn’t hold.”
While acknowledging the relevance of computer-based testing in today’s digital age, Omigbodun emphasized the need for the Federal Government to address the digital divide by equipping rural schools with modern Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure.
He said providing such facilities would better prepare students from underserved areas for contemporary examination methods, ensuring that no child is left behind due to lack of access to technology.
Omigbodun called on all stakeholders in the education sector to work collectively towards building a more inclusive and equitable admission system — one that is grounded in performance, excellence, and equal opportunity for students regardless of their background or region.
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