Common Reasons Students Fail the JAMB

7 minutes read

JAMB is the easiest exam to seat for if you understand the rules of the examination. But unfortunately, few students know this, and they end up struggling to get a good score which rarely happens.

Sometimes, students feel they’ve done all they can to avoid JAMB failure by reading, but the fact is doing that alone won’t guarantee success. You must note other things that can also lead to failure in the exam if not nipped in the bud on time.

In this article, we will discuss common reasons why students fail the JAMB. So, if you’ve previously failed JAMB and do not want history to repeat itself, read through carefully. Also, if this is your first time seating for the JAMB exams and you don’t want to pay another registration fee next year, you’ll find this article valuable.

JAMB examination image

Reasons why students fail the JAMB

Some students prepare for the JAMB examinations by reading their secondary school notes, some use only the JAMB selected texts while the rest use both. Who do you think is doing the right thing? Let’s find out.

Not following the rules of JAMB

For every exam, there are rules students need to follow to excel and JAMB isn’t an exception. What are these rules?

  • Use the JAMB syllabus to track your reading.
  • Get the required texts to help you focus on the topics where likely questions will come.
  • Purchase the past questions that will give you an idea of the questions they set.

These rules are straightforward and will set you on the right part of success in JAMB if you follow it accordingly.

Procrastination

Some students who fail JAMB will often say “after all I read,” but if they were sincere, they will tell you it was a “last minute reading.” If you hope to get JAMB scores of 300-400, then read even before the registration form comes out.

When you procrastinate reading hours until two weeks or a week to the examination, you are definitely setting yourself up for failure. You might think there is time to rush through the syllabus probably because you’ve written it before or it’s the same topics they are teaching in your secondary school. But you won’t know how vast a topic is until you’ve read it.

You can prevent failing your JAMB examination by avoiding setting a daily reading schedule and sticking to it; no excuses. “My advice is to never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.”

Cramming

Cramming is what follows procrastination most of the time. When students perceive there is not time to read and understand like they ought to have done, they resort to it.

Avoid cramming while preparing for your JAMB examination because if you forget a single word in the line of sentence you crammed, it may cause you to forget everything.

Learn to create time to read and understand each topic in the JAMB syllabus and you’ll remember everything during the exams, post-UME exams, and probably during aptitude tests when you apply for jobs after graduating from the university.  

Fear

Most students have embraced the fear of JAMB examinations making it impossible for them to excel. The saying “you are what you feed your mind,” has never been more true than in their case. If you have concluded that you will not score above 160 because most science students do not go higher than that mark, it may end up happening.

Before you prepare for the examination, expel every negative thoughts of failure from your mind so you can feel relaxed and read better.

Registering in special centres

Some people have registered in special centres after so many failed attempts of passing JAMB. Some have not even had the chance of writing the exams but have already registered for a special centre too because they feel it they are not capable at excelling in the examination.

Special centres would not guarantee success as most answers they provide the candidates with might be wrong. There is also a great possibility of JAMB cancelling the results.

Also, what if JAMB asks you to defend your result, how will you do it? You will end up embarrassing yourself and parents when you cannot defend it. You can avoid this embarrassment and dent to your public image by using the required study materials and preparing for the exams with determination.

Avoiding weaker subject

While some students are academic gurus who excel in every subject, other students are not so lucky as they have subjects they can’t seem to understand. If you are one of such people, it will be in your best interest to take out time to study those subjects.

Remember JAMB gives you an aggregate score meaning that every subject will get summed up together to give your total score. If you got a lower mark in your weak subject, it will affect the other higher scores. Therefore, to get a high score overall, you must ace all your JAMB subjects including the weak ones.

Conclusion

Other common reasons why students might fail the JAMB are arriving late at the examination centre, or being a computer illiterate considering the exam is computer based.

If you wish ace your exams, avoid these reasons and prepare with focus and determination. See you at the top!

JAMB is the easiest exam to seat for if you understand the rules of the examination. But unfortunately, few students know this, and they end up struggling to get a good score which rarely happens.

Sometimes, students feel they’ve done all they can to avoid JAMB failure by reading, but the fact is doing that alone won’t guarantee success. You must note other things that can also lead to failure in the exam if not nipped in the bud on time.

In this article, we will discuss common reasons why students fail the JAMB. So, if you’ve previously failed JAMB and do not want history to repeat itself, read through carefully. Also, if this is your first time seating for the JAMB exams and you don’t want to pay another registration fee next year, you’ll find this article valuable.

Reasons why students fail the JAMB

Some students prepare for the JAMB examinations by reading their secondary school notes, some use only the JAMB selected texts while the rest use both. Who do you think is doing the right thing? Let’s find out.

Not following the rules of JAMB

For every exam, there are rules students need to follow to excel and JAMB isn’t an exception. What are these rules?

  • Use the JAMB syllabus to track your reading.
  • Get the required texts to help you focus on the topics where likely questions will come.
  • Purchase the latest copy of JAMB past questions or use our free JAMB past questions as they will give you an idea of the questions JAMB sets.

These rules are straightforward and will set you on the right part of success in JAMB if you follow it accordingly.

Procrastination

Some students who fail JAMB will often say “after all I read,” but if they were sincere, they will tell you it was a “last minute reading.” If you hope to get JAMB scores of 300-400, then read even before the registration form comes out.

When you procrastinate reading hours until two weeks or a week to the examination, you are definitely setting yourself up for failure. You might think there is time to rush through the syllabus probably because you’ve written it before or it’s the same topics they are teaching in your secondary school. But you won’t know how vast a topic is until you’ve read it.

You can prevent failing your JAMB examination by avoiding setting a daily reading schedule and sticking to it; no excuses. “My advice is to never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.”

Cramming

Cramming is what follows procrastination most of the time. When students perceive there is not time to read and understand like they ought to have done, they resort to it.

Avoid cramming while preparing for your JAMB examination because if you forget a single word in the line of sentence you crammed, it may cause you to forget everything.

Learn to create time to read and understand each topic in the JAMB syllabus and you’ll remember everything during the exams, post-UME exams, and probably during aptitude tests when you apply for jobs after graduating from the university.  

Fear

Most students have embraced the fear of JAMB examinations making it impossible for them to excel. The saying “you are what you feed your mind,” has never been more true than in their case. If you have concluded that you will not score above 160 because most science students do not go higher than that mark, it may end up happening.

Before you prepare for the examination, expel every negative thoughts of failure from your mind so you can feel relaxed and read better.

Registering in special centres

Some people have registered in special centres after so many failed attempts of passing JAMB. Some have not even had the chance of writing the exams but have already registered for a special centre too because they feel it they are not capable at excelling in the examination.

Special centres would not guarantee success as most answers they provide the candidates with might be wrong. There is also a great possibility of JAMB cancelling the results.

Also, what if JAMB asks you to defend your result, how will you do it? You will end up embarrassing yourself and parents when you cannot defend it. You can avoid this embarrassment and dent to your public image by using the required study materials and preparing for the exams with determination.

Avoiding weaker subject

While some students are academic gurus who excel in every subject, other students are not so lucky as they have subjects they can’t seem to understand. If you are one of such people, it will be in your best interest to take out time to study those subjects.

Remember JAMB gives you an aggregate score meaning that every subject will get summed up together to give your total score. If you got a lower mark in your weak subject, it will affect the other higher scores. Therefore, to get a high score overall, you must ace all your JAMB subjects including the weak ones.

Conclusion

Other common reasons why students might fail the JAMB are arriving late at the examination centre, or being a computer illiterate considering the exam is computer based.

If you wish ace your exams, avoid these reasons and prepare with focus and determination. See you at the top!

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Giovanni O.C Olakunori

Giovanni Chinecherem Olakunle Olakunori(commonly known as Giovanni Olakunori) is an aspiring data scientist at heart, business developer and educator with a deep interest in ancient philosophy, healthy living, and developing economies. He’s the founder of LarnEdu, a community that inspires and supports lifelong learning especially in underdeveloped nations. He currently lives in the UK after living in 4 other countries across Europe and Africa. You can read more about him or follow him on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to see his public posts about how much he loves hot Kenkey and Jolof rice.

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