The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof Is-haq Olanrewaju Oloyede, has shed tears over the mass failure of candidates in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Oloyede confirmed that technical glitches affected candidates’ performance, as he noted that there had been widespread complaints from candidates and parents over the poor results.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Oloyede, who was seen weeping, admitted that the disruption was caused by a service provider’s failure to apply a necessary software patch properly.
“The 2025 UTME that could have been our finest yet was marred by the carelessness, negligence, and lack of concern exhibited by the agents entrusted with this crucial yet straightforward function,” Oloyede said.
JAMB’s internal investigation, which included consultations with psychometricians, computer scientists, education experts, and representatives of students and parents, revealed that the glitch occurred in 157 centres – 65 in Lagos and 92 in the Owerri zone.
“The service provider did not properly apply the patch to some centre servers in these centres. That failure disrupted the upload of the candidates’ responses within the first three or four days, as applicable to Lagos and Owerri zones,” he said.
LEADERSHIP reports that the Board convened a meeting on May 12, 2025, with key stakeholders, including leading computer science experts, the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPSS) and several public critics of JAMB to ensure transparency.
According to Oloyede, the Board immediately summoned the six affected states’ Chief External Examiners of Lagos, Imo, Anambra, Oyo, Abia, and Ebonyi. It resolved to reschedule the examination for 379,997 candidates from these regions.
“Starting tomorrow, the affected candidates will receive text messages to reschedule. I apologise and take full responsibility.
“What should have been a moment of joy has been marred by one or two errors,” he added.
Of the 1.9 million candidates who sat the UTME, over 1.5 million reportedly scored below 200 out of a maximum of 400, raising alarm across the education sector.
According to the examination agency, 1,955,069 results were processed, out of which only 4,756 candidates (0.24 per cent) scored 320 and above, considered top-tier performance. Meanwhile, 7,658 candidates (0.39 per cent) scored between 300 and 319, bringing the total for those who scored 300 and above to 12,414 candidates (0.63 per cent).
Also, 73,441 candidates (3.76 per cent) scored between 250 and 299, while 334,560 candidates (17.11 per cent) scored between 200 and 249. Similarly, 983,187 candidates (50.29 per cent) scored between 160 and 199, which is widely regarded as the minimum admissions threshold in many institutions.
In the same vein, 488,197 candidates (24.97 per cent) scored between 140 and 159; 57,419 candidates (2.94 per cent) scored between 120 and 139; 3,820 candidates (0.20 per cent) scored between 100 and 119, and 2,031 candidates (0.10 per cent) scored below 100.
Over 75 per cent of all candidates (1.5 million) scored below 200, which is the average score, seeing as the examination is graded over 400.
This year’s UTME witnessed a significant drop in performance, sparking concern among students, parents, and educators alike.
The UTME is a key requirement for admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions and assesses candidates in four subjects, including the compulsory Use of English.
Speaking further, Oloyede said JAMB is now working closely with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) to prevent schedule clashes and has pledged to notify affected candidates directly.
“Despite being able to identify the source of the problem and the affected centres, we are conscious of the painful damage it has inflicted on the reputation of JAMB.
“As Registrar of JAMB, I am responsible for the service provider’s negligence. I unreservedly apologise for it and the trauma it has subjected Nigerians to, directly and indirectly. Once again, we apologise and assure you that this incident represents a significant setback for the Board’s reputation.”
“We remain committed to emerging stronger in our core values of transparency, fairness, and equity. It is our culture to admit error because we know that despite the best of our efforts, we are human, we are not perfect.”
Oloyede clarified that while the issue was not due to a system-wide glitch or deliberate sabotage, it resulted from one of the two service providers failing in its responsibility.
He appealed to all affected candidates and stakeholders to accept the explanation as the truth without embellishment.
ASUU Threatens To Sue JAMB Over UTME Mass Failure
Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) branch, has threatened to sue the Joint Matriculation Board (JAMB) over the massive failure recorded in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Exam (UTME).
Chairman of ASUU-UNN Comrade Óyibo Eze disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Nsukka on Wednesday.
Oyibo said the massive failure, which mainly affected candidates from the South East, was JAMB’s deliberate attempt to prevent children from the zone from getting admission.
“My office has been inundated with protests, calls and visits by parents and the general public on this deliberate massive failure in the 2025 JAMB examination.
“ASUU will challenge this result in the High Court if JAMB fails to review it and give candidates their merited scores.
“JAMB knows that children from the South East must score higher before getting admission, whereas their counterparts in some parts of the country will use a 120 JAMB score to get admission to read medicine in universities in their area.
“In the JAMB recently released result, out of 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the 2025 examination, over 1.5 million candidates scored less than 200, and the majority of these are from the South East and Lagos State, where many Igbos reside,” he said.
He called on governors from the South East to rise up and challenge this injustice, which aims to prevent children from the zone from gaining admission into higher institutions in the country.
“The governors in the zone should not sit and watch JAMB toy with our children’s academic future.
” I am not against the board punishing those found guilty of exam malpractice, but JAMB should not, because of these few candidates, fail all the candidates in an exam centre,” he said.
The ASUU boss said it was unbelievable and unacceptable that no candidate who sat for the exam in the whole University Secondary School, Nsukka, scored up to 200 in the UTME.
“This school has superlative students who have excelled in academics inside and outside the school. How come all of them scored less than 200 in the exam?
“Even if JAMB discovered one or two candidates for exam malpractice, is that enough reason to fail all others who have prepared very hard for that exam?” he said.
Oyibo advised JAMB to act quickly to do what was needed by reviewing the result, as that massive failure had become a national issue, which might attract national protests if nothing urgent was done.
LEADERSHIP reports that during a press conference on Wednesday JAMB registrar Prof Ishaq Oloyede stated that a technical glitch affected candidates results in all the five South East states and Lagos.