JAMB boss weeps, admits errors in UTME results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has admitted responsibility for the mass failure recorded in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the JAMB Registrar, visibly broke down in tears.

Fighting back emotions, Prof. Oloyede announced that 379,997 out of over 1.9 million candidates who sat for the examination would retake it.

This decision followed numerous complaints from candidates and stakeholders about technical glitches, unusual low scores, and alleged irregularities during the UTME.

Visibly emotional and intermittently wiping his face with a handkerchief, the Registrar, said, “I take full responsibility for the negligence of our staff.”

He further revealed that candidates in 65 centres in Lagos and 92 centres in the Owerri Zone, which cover the five states in the South-East, would be required to rewrite the examination.

The 2025 UTME results was released by JAMB, with over 1.5 million candidates scoring less than 200 in the entrance examination. This development triggered reactions from stakeholders, including parents and candidates.

According to statistical analysis of the results, out of the 1,955,069 candidates who sat the examination, only 420,415 candidates scored above 200, which by implication, means that more than 1.5 million scored below 200 — the threshold more public universities accept for admissions into some courses.

The data showed that 75% of the candidates scored below 200 in the examination, with less than 1% scoring above 300.

However, some parents and candidates rejected their results, urging JAMB to review them. Some of the candidates who participated in the 2025 UTME also took to social media using the hashtag #thisisnotmyresult to protest their scores, while some parents also threatened to sue the board over the development.