The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, broke down in tears on Wednesday while apologizing for errors that affected the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
“Once again, we apologise and assure you that this incident represents a significant setback… We remain committed to our core values of transparency, fairness and equity,” Oloyede said during a press briefing in Abuja.
Following widespread complaints of technical glitches, low scores, and irregularities, JAMB confirmed that a technical fault at 157 out of 887 centres caused poor performance. Consequently, 379,997 candidates will retake the exam starting May 16, 2025.
In a post on its official X handle, JAMB stated: “Man proposes, God disposes,” acknowledging the system failure that led to the general low scores.
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Statistics from the 2025 UTME revealed that 78.5% of the 1,955,069 candidates scored below 200. Only 0.63% scored 300 and above. The largest number, 50.29%, scored between 160 and 199. Just 0.24% scored 320 and above.
JAMB also revealed that 40,247 underage candidates were allowed to participate due to “exceptional abilities,” but only 1.16% of them met the qualifying mark.
Furthermore, 97 candidates were caught cheating, 2,157 are under investigation, and 71,701 were absent. Those with biometric issues are under review and may be rescheduled.
JAMB has begun an urgent post-exam review and engaged experts to address public concerns. “If faults are found, we will implement appropriate remedial measures,” said spokesperson Fabian Benjamin.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, defended JAMB’s strict anti-cheating measures, noting that the system “has made cheating nearly impossible.”
See the video where the JAMB Registrar struggled holding back tears below:
