In what can be regarded as taking the path of honour in view of the impact of incredible outcomes of a noble objective, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, on Wednesday, broke down in tears as he apologised for the errors in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He also took responsibility for the negligence of JAMB officials, leading to mass failure in the examination.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, a sober Oloyede with tears in his eyes said, “I apologise for the trauma caused to the candidates.”
Oloyede had also at the beginning of the press briefing, acknowledged “one or two errors” made during the 2025 UTME.
Fighting back emotions, the JAMB registrar announced that 379,997 out of over 1.9 million candidates who sat for the examination would retake it.
The development was sequel to numerous complaints from candidates and stakeholders about technical glitches, unusual low scores, and alleged irregularities during the UTME.
Prof. Oloyede, visibly emotional and intermittently wiping his face with a handkerchief, said, “I take full responsibility for the negligence of our staff.”
The JAMB boss also disclosed that 65 centres in Lagos (South West) and 92 centres in Owerri Zone covering the five states in the South East, would rewrite the exam.
He said, “Today marks a moment we shall not soon forget – a day that should have been filled with celebration for what was, until recently, regarded as our most successful UTME exercise. Regrettably, this joy has been overshadowed by an easily avoidable error by one or two persons.
“In simple terms, while 65 centres (206,610 candidates) were affected in Lagos zone (comprising only Lagos State), 92 centres (173,387 candidates) were affected in Owerri zone, which includes the South East states.
Providing explanations on what transpired before the release of the results, Oloyede said, “ In clear terms, in the process of rectifying the issue, the technical personnel deployed by the Service Provider for LAG (Lagos and South-East zones) inadvertently failed to update some of the delivery servers. Regrettably, this oversight went undetected prior to the release of the results.”
It is instructive to note that JAMB had released the 2025 UTME results and disclosed that over 1.5 million candidates scored below 200 in the entry examination, a development that 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 higher than 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 also showed that 75 per cent of the candidates scored below 200 in the examination, with less than 1 per cent scoring above 300.
But some parents and candidates rejected their results, urging JAMB to review them. Incidentally, 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 JAMB board over the development.
