Group Demands Resignation of Education Minister Over JAMB Failure Comments

[Student Village]

The Not Too Young To Perform (NTYTP) group has called for the immediate resignation or dismissal of Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, following his controversial remarks on the high failure rate in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

Dr. Alausa, during a recent interview, attributed the mass failure—where over 78 percent of the 1,955,069 candidates scored below the 200-mark threshold—to the success of the government’s anti-malpractice measures. JAMB reported that only approximately 420,000 candidates achieved scores above 200, sparking widespread concern about the state of Nigeria’s education system.

In a strongly worded statement, NTYTP’s National Secretary, Bello Muhammed, criticized the minister’s comments as insensitive and indicative of incompetence. “To downplay the catastrophic failure rate in the recent JAMB examinations and paint it as an achievement is nothing short of a national disgrace,” the statement read. The group accused Alausa of prioritizing political narratives over addressing the systemic issues plaguing the education sector.

“NTYTP demands the immediate resignation or dismissal of Dr. Tunji Alausa as Minister of Education, citing gross incompetence, failure to protect the interests of Nigerian students, and breach of public trust,” Muhammed stated. “Nigeria deserves leaders who confront hard truths and implement genuine reforms, not those who celebrate collapse for political points.”

The group expressed frustration with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, accusing it of politicizing critical national issues. “It is shameless and pathetic that every national issue is reduced to political gamesmanship,” the statement added, urging the president to shift focus from rhetoric to actionable reforms. NTYTP called for increased investment in educational institutions to restore public confidence in a system they described as long neglected.

The minister’s remarks, made on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, have drawn significant backlash on social media, with users labeling them as tone-deaf and embarrassing. Alausa defended JAMB’s computer-based testing (CBT) system, stating, “That’s a big concern, and it’s a reflection of exams being done the proper way. JAMB has implemented strong security measures, and as a result, fraud or cheating has been completely eliminated.” He contrasted JAMB’s integrity with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO), which he claimed still face malpractice issues, and announced plans to transition both to CBT by November 2025.

NTYTP argued that instead of celebrating the failure rate as evidence of reduced cheating, the minister should address underlying issues such as inadequate preparation, poor infrastructure, and systemic educational decay. The group’s statement concluded with a plea for urgent action: “President Tinubu must invest in rebuilding Nigeria’s educational institutions and restore faith in a system that has been abandoned for too long.”

[Cait 😝]

At this point , I think Jamb should be cancelled

[justseyi]

I totally agree with you!

[Author]

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