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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has admitted to errors that affected the 2025 UTME, prompting calls from candidates for a total cancellation of the results.
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Over 379,000 candidates across Lagos and South-East states were affected due to technical glitches during the exam.
Several candidates of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are demanding a total cancellation of the results following the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) admission of errors that marred the conduct of the exam.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, broke down in tears at a press conference in Abuja as he offered an apology for the technical glitches, saying: “I apologise for the trauma caused the candidates and I take full responsibility for this.” He explained that a grading software failure from one of JAMB’s service providers disrupted the results of 206,610 candidates in Lagos and 173,387 in the South-East, affecting 157 centres in total.
“Our investigation reveals there are grounds for the complaints about our 2025 UTME results. This press conference is convened with a view to unveiling the bitter truth of our findings openly and objectively,” Oloyede stated, adding that the glitch was traced to the deployment of a new software developed in-house and managed by a team led by a JAMB staff member named Dubem.
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In response to public outrage and mounting pressure, JAMB expedited its usual post-exam review and has scheduled resit exams for Friday and Saturday. Affected candidates will receive SMS notifications to reprint their slips.
Some students like Aham Ijendu from Owerri and Mercy Obinna from Anambra called for a complete cancellation of the results, stating that it would only be fair if all candidates were allowed to retake the exam. “The entire exercise should be cancelled and let all of us retake the exams,” Mercy said.
However, others such as Shoneye Neemah Darasimi and Falola Deborah from Lagos expressed fear that they might lose the results they worked hard for. “Now everything feels uncertain again like we’re starting from scratch,” Shoneye lamented, while Deborah said, “I’ll really hate JAMB if I have to retake and score lower.”
Parents also voiced mixed reactions. Sydney Obi said the errors had caused emotional stress and urged JAMB to properly audit any new technology before future use.
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Funmilayo Lawrence commended the registrar’s transparency, noting, “If every office holder can do this, every sector will be better for it.”
A professor from Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nasiru Idris, called on JAMB to adopt real-time result systems to prevent future manipulation, while educational expert Oyarekhua Happiness emphasized that though the reversal is justifiable, better systems must be put in place going forward.
“This unfortunate incident represents significant self-harm to the integrity we’ve built over the years. But we remain committed to transparency, fairness, and equity,” Oloyede added.
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