In today’s JAMB news, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has ordered a resit for 379,997 candidates affected by technical failures in the 2025 UTME. According to the latest JAMB update, the Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, emotionally admitted during a press briefing that outdated server software and human error led to the massive failure across Lagos and South-East exam centres.
JAMB 2025 UTME Review update
A massive controversy has erupted in Nigeria’s education sector following a critical revelation by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) concerning the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). The board has admitted that a human and technical error affected 379,997 candidates, forcing the rescheduling of examinations across Lagos State and the five South-East states.
JAMB Boss Breaks Down in Tears Over Exam Failure
During a press briefing at JAMB Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, emotionally addressed the media, acknowledging the grave mistake that invalidated hundreds of thousands of UTME results.
“This incident was neither a system failure nor administrative manipulation, but an outright human error,” Oloyede stated tearfully, adding, “I apologise and take full responsibility.”
Root Cause: Server Patch Error in Lagos and South-East Zones
According to a high-level technical report jointly conducted by JAMB and its independent partner, Educare Technical Team, a major server patch upgrade intended to support new exam features was not applied to the LAG server cluster. This cluster services all of Lagos and the South-East.
While the Kaduna (KAD) cluster was correctly updated, the LAG cluster ran outdated configurations, resulting in mismatches during answer interpretation and validation. This affected 157 examination centres — 65 in Lagos (206,610 candidates) and 92 in the South-East (173,387 candidates).
Breakdown of the Error
- Over 1.5 million candidates out of 1.9 million scored below 200.
- Data from over 18,000 candidates was collected and cleaned, narrowing down to 15,000 authentic response logs for analysis.
- Approximately 14,000 records were traced to affected centres.
- The audit confirmed systemic marking failures in the impacted zones.
Mandatory Resit Ordered for 379,997 Candidates
JAMB announced that all candidates affected will retake the exam starting Friday, May 16, 2025. The board will notify affected candidates via SMS.
“In simple terms, these candidates will be contacted through text messages addressed to their registered phones,” Oloyede confirmed.
Oloyede Issues Public Apology
In a dramatic conclusion to his remarks, Oloyede said:
“There are three powerful expressions: ‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ and ‘I am sorry.’ I appeal to candidates and parents to accept this explanation without embellishment — PLEASE. I apologise and take full responsibility — I AM SORRY.”
He also thanked the Minister of Education and JAMB staff for their support and transparency during the crisis.
Public Outrage and Calls for Resignation
Despite Oloyede’s emotional appeal, public backlash has intensified. Several Nigerians have called for his immediate resignation.
Reactions on X (formerly Twitter):
- @jacobsule: “Professor Oloyede should be asked to step aside to allow for a full-scale, independent investigation.”
- @MrGatsby (Ajao Olumota): “Oloyede should please resign. This is disgraceful.”
- @abolajijnr (Funsho Olushola): “Oloyede should be in jail already. Everyone responsible should resign and face the law.”
Parents Demand Release of Underage Candidates’ Results
While JAMB was addressing the technical error, another controversy emerged. Parents of candidates below age 16 are demanding the release of their children’s withheld results.
A concerned mother, Mrs. Abiodun Ashimolowo, lamented:
“Why hold their results because they are underage? They sat the exam and deserve to see their results.”
PTA Commends JAMB’s Honesty, But Seeks Clarity
The President of the Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (PTA), Mr. Danjuma Haruka, commended Oloyede for owning up to the error but insisted on transparency.
“We need clarity — what went wrong and what has been corrected. As parents, we want assurance that the children were not at fault.”
Timeline of Discovery and Action
- April 25: Initial discovery of data omission in the Lagos cluster.
- April 26–28: Server patch tests conducted.
- May 13: Decision made to reschedule affected candidates.
- May 14: Public announcement by JAMB Registrar.
- May 16: Scheduled start date for UTME resit.
What This Means for the Education Sector
This incident has shaken public confidence in Nigeria’s examination systems. While JAMB’s transparency is commendable, stakeholders are demanding not just apologies, but accountability, reform, and reassurance that such systemic failures will never recur.
As pressure mounts on Professor Oloyede to resign, the spotlight now shifts to the Ministry of Education to determine the next steps in restoring the integrity of national examinations.
What Caused the 2025 UTME Mass Failure?
JAMB Registrar Admits Technical Glitch caused the 2025 UTME Mass Failure.
