JAMB’s Regional Server Model Fuels Distrust Amid UTME Glitches, Scholars Urge Structural Reform
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) is under renewed scrutiny following a technical incident in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) that disrupted the results of over 379,000 candidates from the Lagos and South East zones. The glitch, widely attributed to inconsistencies in the board’s regionally managed server clusters, has sparked concerns about structural bias and deepened existing ethnic and regional tensions in Nigeria. JAMB currently operates a decentralised server model, where individual regions manage their own exam infrastructure. While intended to enhance localised efficiency, this system has inadvertently introduced uneven vulnerabilities, particularly in areas where software mismatches or delayed updates go unaddressed due to weak central oversight. Although there is no evidence the 2025 incident was deliberate, analysts warn that in a country as ethnically divided as Nigeria, even technical errors can be interpreted through the lens of regional discrimination. Political scientist Chukwuemeka Ibeanu (2005) cautioned that state institutions in Nigeria must be deliberately designed to prevent perceived exclusion or favouritism, while Peter Ekeh’s (1975) “two publics” theory explains how ethnic allegiances often supersede national loyalty, especially when state fairness is in question. “This isn’t just about faulty servers,” said one policy analyst. “It’s about a system that, by design, enables differential treatment. That perception — whether real or imagined — is politically dangerous.” Indeed, the fallout from the glitch has already led to tribal accusations, social media outrage, and rising calls for investigations into regional exam discrepancies. Experts now advocate for a cloud-based, centrally controlled system that would ensure uniform oversight, real-time updates, and greater transparency across all zones. Such a shift could not only improve operational efficiency, they argue, but also help dismantle the structural conditions that feed mistrust and regional resentment. “Institutional design matters,” one IT governance consultant said. “As long as JAMB continues with this fragmented approach, it opens itself up to technical failures being politicised — and that’s a risk Nigeria can no longer afford.”