By Elizabeth Godwin
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a rescheduled Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for 379,997 candidates after uncovering significant technical errors that compromised scores at 157 centres nationwide.
JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made the disclosure during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, where he offered an emotional apology and accepted full responsibility for what he described as “a painful setback.” Fighting back tears, Oloyede vowed the board would correct the failure and prevent its recurrence.
The problem stemmed from a patching failure in JAMB’s IT system that affected the “LAG vehicle” – a cluster of states including Lagos and the South-East. A software fix applied after similar errors were detected during mock exams was not fully implemented across all delivery servers. As a result, questions were improperly shuffled, and answers misaligned, severely impacting candidates’ results between April 25 and 28.
The affected centres include:
- 65 centres in Lagos State (206,610 candidates)
- 92 centres in South-East states — Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo (173,387 candidates)
While other zones received full software updates, these two regions remained vulnerable due to oversight by third-party service providers.
All affected candidates will be required to retake the UTME starting Friday, May 16. JAMB will issue notifications via SMS, email, and direct phone calls, instructing candidates to reprint their examination slips with updated information.
To avoid clashes with the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), especially the Agricultural Science paper scheduled for May 16, JAMB has worked with WAEC to reschedule conflicting papers where necessary. Some UTME candidates will now sit their exams on Saturday, May 17, instead.
Oloyede assured that most of the prescribed reading texts for both UTME and WASSCE overlap, easing the academic pressure on students retaking the exam.
The resit follows widespread outrage after JAMB released the 2025 UTME results on May 9. Data revealed that over 1.5 million of the 1.95 million candidates scored below 200, with just 0.63% (12,414 candidates) scoring 300 or above. These unusual statistics prompted accusations of systemic failure and led JAMB to fast-track a comprehensive audit.
JAMB convened an emergency panel of academic and IT experts, including:
- Prof. Boniface Nworgu (psychometrics)
- Prof. Adenike Osofisan (Computer Professionals Council of Nigeria)
- Dr. Bukola Dosumu (NAPPS)
- Mr. Osita Chidoka (former Minister of Aviation)
Their investigation concluded that the glitch was limited to 157 of 882 centres, confirming that 725 centres were unaffected.
In addition to the technical issue:
- 97 candidates were caught for confirmed examination malpractice.
- 2,157 others are under investigation.
- 71,701 candidates were marked absent.
- Some candidates faced biometric verification failures and will also be rescheduled.
JAMB also disclosed that 40,247 underage candidates sat for the exam under a waiver for “exceptional ability” — of these, only 467 met the minimum performance threshold.
In a deeply personal moment, Professor Oloyede publicly wept during the press briefing, expressing sorrow for the error’s impact.
“I take full responsibility, not just in words,” he said. “This has caused distress, and for that, I am truly sorry.”
Despite the setback, Oloyede reaffirmed JAMB’s commitment to transparency, equity, and continuous improvement. He outlined the board’s quality assurance measures, including the use of proprietary testing software, transition to single-item-based assessment, and oversight by multiple layers — from cybersecurity consultants to Peace Monitors and Chief External Examiners.
While Education Minister Tunji Alausa praised JAMB’s anti-cheating software and advocated its adoption by WAEC and NECO, critics argued the incident damaged trust in the board’s examination process. Some candidates and their guardians are reportedly considering legal action against JAMB.
Nevertheless, Oloyede emphasized that corrective actions are underway and pledged that all remaining discrepancies, if any, would be addressed promptly.
“Man proposes, God disposes,” he said, quoting the headline of his address — a humble acknowledgment of human fallibility amid technological ambition.
