The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has publicly admitted responsibility for the widespread poor performance recorded in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), following national outrage over unusually low scores and allegations of technical malfunctions during the examination.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, became visibly emotional as he addressed the crisis, at one point wiping tears from his eyes while apologizing to affected candidates and their families.
Oloyede announced that 379,997 candidates would be required to retake the UTME due to technical issues and other irregularities traced to 157 computer-based test (CBT) centres.
He disclosed that 65 of the affected centres are located in Lagos, while 92 are in the Owerri Zone, which covers the five states in Nigeria’s South East.
“I take full responsibility for this situation,” Prof. Oloyede said, acknowledging lapses in the board’s supervision and the conduct of its technical partners. “Our internal review revealed several centres failed to adhere to the required standards, resulting in candidates being unfairly assessed.”
The announcement follows weeks of mounting pressure on the examination body. Thousands of students had taken to social media and various media platforms to question their results, with many alleging discrepancies between their actual performance and the scores received.
Some students reported scoring over 300 in mock examinations, only to be awarded scores below 160 in the UTME. The issue sparked widespread concern from parents, educators, and civil society groups, some of whom accused JAMB of failing to adequately oversee the conduct of the exams.
Earlier in the week, JAMB had initiated an accelerated review of the 2025 UTME process. The board said it was working with external stakeholders including the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria and heads of tertiary institutions to determine the extent of technical glitches and to recommend corrective actions.
This is not the first time JAMB has faced criticism over examination integrity, but the scale of this year’s complaints has triggered renewed calls for reform. Meanwhile, JAMB has urged all affected candidates to remain calm and assured them that new exam dates will be communicated soon.
Education stakeholders have welcomed the move for a retake but insist that systemic improvements must follow to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The development casts a shadow over the credibility of Nigeria’s central university admission process, especially at a time when students and their families are grappling with high costs of education and increasing competition for limited spaces in tertiary institutions.
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