The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has commended the registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, for his forthrightness and empathy in addressing the recent technical errors that disrupted the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
In a statement signed by its president, Dr Smart Olugbeko, COEASU expressed sympathy with the candidates and families affected by the glitches, describing the emotional toll on students as significant and regrettable.
While acknowledging JAMB’s technological advancements in streamlining the examination process in recent years, COEASU warned of the dangers of overreliance on technology without sufficient oversight.
Drawing parallels to unintended consequences in national security operations, the union emphasised the importance of caution and responsibility when deploying automated systems.
COEASU praised Professor Oloyede for taking full responsibility for the errors a gesture the union described as rare among Nigerian public officials.
“His sincerity and empathy in acknowledging the flaws and taking corrective steps distinguish him as a model public servant,” the statement said.
The union also criticised the handling of the now-infamous Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which it said was riddled with corruption and inefficiencies.
COEASU faulted officials behind IPPIS for their refusal to admit the platform’s shortcomings or embrace the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), a homegrown alternative developed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Although the current administration has migrated tertiary institutions to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), COEASU lamented that structural ties between GIFMIS and IPPIS have continued to cause unjust salary delays, undermining the reform’s intended benefits.
COEASU further called out broader lapses in public accountability, accusing some public figures of receiving accolades for governance failures that have deepened economic woes and national insecurity.
