Widespread dissatisfaction, public apology, and a nationwide resit. These are the three main outcomes from a major system failure that marred the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), following an admission by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) that technical errors caused poor results in hundreds of centres across Nigeria.
The board’s leadership is now on the defensive, trying to manage a crisis of confidence among parents and candidates many of whom have a track record of academic excellence but received unexpectedly low scores. The fallout has pushed JAMB into a corner, forcing it to concede error and call for an unprecedented supplementary examination.
What Really Went Wrong?
By Wednesday, 13 May, JAMB had admitted that a technical malfunction affected 157 out of its 887 UTME centres nationwide. That’s nearly 18% of its total approved exam locations.
“It has been established that a technical glitch affected 157 centres out of the 887 centres in the 2025 UTME,” the board stated in an official post on its social media channels. “This was basically responsible for the general low performance of the candidates scheduled to sit the examination in those centres.”
The fallout was immediate. Students took to social media, many of them sharing screenshots of scores that didn’t match their expectations or prior academic performance. Anecdotal evidence mounted as secondary school principals and parents also raised concerns over unusually poor results in otherwise high-performing schools.
JAMB’s Response and the Apology
Faced with mounting pressure, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, addressed a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday. He offered an unreserved apology and accepted responsibility for the technical lapses.
“So, I appeal to the candidates and those affected by the error of our system to accept this explanation as the truth of the matter without embellishment, please,” Oloyede said. “I apologise and take full responsibility, not just in words.”
In a video published by Arise TV, the registrar added: “Once again, we apologise and assure you that this incident represents a significant setback. We remain committed to emerging stronger in our core values, transparency, fairness and equity. It is also our culture to admit error because we know that in spite of the best of our efforts, we are humans. We are not perfect.”
What the Data Tells Us
According to data gathered from official reports, the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) recorded a total of 1.94 million registered candidates, representing a 2.7% increase compared to the 1.89 million candidates registered in 2024. The examinations were held across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory between 24 April and 5 May 2025, though earlier schedules had indicated a window between 19 and 26 April. This slight variation occurred due to rescheduling in some centres.
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JAMB later confirmed that a technical glitch affected 157 out of the 887 approved centres, amounting to nearly 18% of all testing locations. While the board has not officially disclosed the exact number of affected candidates, estimates based on centre capacity suggest that up to 310,000 candidates may have been impacted.
The board’s scoring process is based on Item Response Theory (IRT), a statistical model designed to standardise performance outcomes across test centres and minimise bias or human error. Despite this system, the widespread complaints and verified anomalies in the 2025 cycle cast doubts over the reliability of scores issued at the affected locations.
In the previous year, 76% of candidates scored below 200 out of 400, according to JAMB’s 2024 performance analysis published by Channels Television. Early insights from the 2025 results indicate a similar if not more severe trend.
A Premium Times report notes that over 78% of candidates in the 2025 UTME scored below the 200 benchmark. While these figures reflect a broader national pattern of underperformance, the technical failure in 157 centres has intensified concerns around fairness and standardisation.
JAMB has now set Friday, 16 May 2025, as the start date for the rescheduled exams. Candidates will be required to reprint their examination slips. The retake will span three days Friday, Saturday and Sunday depending on the number of affected candidates per centre.
The board also said that those whose new test clashes with other exams or events will be rescheduled to ensure fairness. The retakes are expected to follow strict monitoring guidelines to prevent recurrence.
A JAMB staff member who spoke at the Abuja media briefing explained that additional technical audits are ongoing at the affected centres to forestall future disruptions.
While JAMB’s public apology may have been the right first step, many observers question whether it’s enough. Confidence in the board’s systems has been dented, especially as the UTME serves as a primary gateway into Nigeria’s higher education system.
For years, JAMB has struggled to balance transparency, efficiency and accessibility. Though it has introduced several digital reforms including biometric verification and e-pin vending the 2025 UTME incident shows that system improvements must also come with contingency planning and data recovery safeguards.
