As Prof. Ishaq Oloyede prepares to leave office on July 31 after a statutory 10-year tenure as Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, his tenure was marked by sweeping reforms that strengthened the integrity of university admissions through digital innovation, improved financial transparency and restored public confidence in the board. However, his administration also faced significant challenges, including the 2025 UTME technical glitches and policy controversies. Funmi Ogundare reviews Oloyede’s achievements, challenges and the legacy of one of Nigeria’s most influential education reformers
Few public institutions in Nigeria have undergone as profound a transformation in the last 10 years as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) did under the tenure of the Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede. His administration has been defined by sweeping reforms, technology-driven innovation, financial transparency and a determination to restore public confidence in the country’s university admissions system.
As he prepares to leave office on July 31, after serving two terms of five years each, Oloyede leaves behind an institution that is marked different from the one he inherited in 2016. Yet, like many reformers in public service, his tenure was not without setbacks, controversies and difficult policy decisions that sometimes drew intense public scrutiny.
