Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the former Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has made a bombshell revelation about the root cause of exam malpractice in Nigeria.

“The most painful period of my experience in JAMB had to do with the level of involvement of parents in organisation of examination malpractice.”

Oloyede, a renowned academic and administrator, made this statement during an interview on ThisDay Live on Sunday. He claimed that many parents deliberately expose their children to dishonest practices in a bid to secure admission into tertiary institutions.

According to him, candidates are often not the architects of examination malpractice, but rather, parents bear greater responsibility for the growing trend. “I have no difficulty. And I think most of the candidates are not problematic. They are not the problem. The problem are the parents.”

The former JAMB boss also revealed that he was often moved by the extent to which parents went to facilitate cheating during examinations. “Every time I was confronted with the reality of what parents were doing. It’s most of the time I became very emotional about it because I just felt that how can people hate themselves, hate their future to this level?”

Oloyede has served as the JAMB registrar since 2016 and has been credited with efforts to reform the exam board and reduce cases of examination malpractice. However, despite these efforts, the trend persists, with many Nigerians continuing to express concerns about the integrity of the country's education system.

Oloyede's tenure at JAMB was the longest in the board's history, spanning over a decade. During his tenure, the board has undergone significant reforms, including the introduction of a more robust security system to prevent examination malpractice.

Despite these measures, many Nigerians continue to express concerns about the integrity of the country's education system. The revelation by Oloyede has sparked a heated debate about the role of parents in perpetuating examination malpractice.

Parents' Role in Exam Malpractice

According to Oloyede, parents who engage in examination malpractice do so because they want to secure admission for their children into tertiary institutions. However, he argues that this approach is short-sighted and has long-term consequences for the children's future.

“If you have deficiency, you wouldn’t want to pass the deficiency to the next generation. But that’s what many people do with their parents,” he said.

The statement by Oloyede has sparked a heated debate about the role of parents in perpetuating examination malpractice.