The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has admitted that errors occurred during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), affecting the performance of many candidates.
JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, May 14. He announced that a fresh UTME has been scheduled for 379,997 candidates across the five South-East states and Lagos State.
“What should have been a moment of joy has been marred by one or two errors,” Prof. Oloyede said.
Taking full responsibility for what he described as a “sabotage” of the 2025 UTME exercise, Oloyede stated that affected candidates would begin receiving text messages from the Board starting Thursday, May 15, 2025, to reschedule their exams.
“The affected candidates will start getting text messages for rescheduling from tomorrow (Thursday). I apologize and take full responsibility,” he added, though he did not specify the exact nature of the errors.
The UTME is a mandatory exam for students seeking admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions. It tests four subjects: English Language (compulsory) plus three others related to the candidate’s chosen course of study.
On May 5, JAMB released the results for this year’s examination. Out of 1.9 million candidates, more than 1.5 million (around 79%) scored below 200. Only 12,414 candidates—less than one percent—scored 300 and above.
The low scores sparked widespread concern, with candidates and families taking to social media demanding a review of the results. Several lawsuits were filed against JAMB as well.
Two days ago, the board announced it was investigating complaints related to the 2025 exam results to identify and address any technical issues.
A team of experts, including members of the Computer Professionals Association of Nigeria, chief external examiners (heads of tertiary institutions), educational assessment specialists, and vice chancellors from across the country, has been assembled to conduct a thorough review.
