JAMB 2025: Beyond Technical Glitches — The Real Issues Affecting UTME Success

The government organization in charge of conducting the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Nigeria is the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). By a decree issued by the Act (no. 2 of 1978), JAMB was established as a military body. Since then, the organization has been in charge of setting up entrance tests for universities in Nigeria.

There have been difficulties along the way, just like with any human institution. A lot of students and their parents have happy or sad tales to share. There have been instances where otherwise exceptional students have had their scores seized for alleged UTME center fraud or irregularities in the administration of the exam marks due to either real mistakes or clumsy acts of neglect.

It is equally noteworthy, though, that certain students have demonstrated exceptional performance and received extremely high grades in the well-sought-after UTME tests. Significant modifications have been made to the way the UTME tests are administered since the Buhari administration hired Prof. Ishaq Oloyede in 2016. It is now more digital, and the commission has been boosting the economy via form sales for a while.

Given the improvements in exam organization and other administrative procedures that have helped the organization reduce the number of problems that have plagued the process, such as exam malpractice and results that are released later than expected, the JAMB registrar appears to have enjoyed something of a hero’s ovation among many Nigerians. In academic circles, Prof. Oloyede appears to have gained some hero status as a result of his advancements.

Then, people are raising their eyebrows in response to the UTME results that JAMB recently revealed. Some students and their parents were first shocked by the findings.

Some students have been urging JAMB to check their results on social media because they were unable to match their 2025 UTME results with their prior academic achievements due to their academic records.

Fortunately, JAMB was notified, a stakeholders’ meeting was organized, and an urgent inquiry was promised—unlike many other institutional failures in the nation. In the majority of Southeast states, including Lagos, almost 387,000 candidates were impacted. JAMB acknowledged that there had been a technical glitch that affected the accuracy of the results in roughly 157 locations across the country.

In a tearful and emotional news conference, the registrar stated that the board found inconsistencies related to malfunctioning server updates in its Southeast and Lagos zones, which prevented the uploading of candidates’ answers during the first three days of the test. Massive national indignation resulted, and some parents and candidates even staged a protest match at the JAMB office.

Unfortunately, the situation was so serious that a distressed applicant named Faith Opesusi allegedly killed herself after learning that she had received 146 points out of 400, which may have been insufficient to secure her a spot at the university of her choice. She was among the 78 percent of pupils who received a score lower than 200. Other candidates must be experiencing varying degrees of depression and trauma. They live in a culture that frequently gauges success by academic accomplishments, and they are impressionable and young.

According to the Roundtable Conversation, the Nigerian government and its educational institutions need to reassess to reduce serious mistakes that previously occurred in minor forms and went unnoticed, which resulted in this tragic loss of life. This goes beyond simply retaking the exams. Prioritizing our children’s education will make it easier for successful pupils to be in and study the subjects they have selected. This is because most candidates’ hopes start to fade when they are denied access to UTME tests to gain admission to their preferred colleges through nepotism.

We chatted with Prof. Anthony Kila, the Center Director of the Commonwealth Institute of Advanced and Professional Studies (CIAPS), a political economist, a Jean Monnet Professor of Strategy and Development, and a well-known educationist. He is a seasoned public affairs analyst and lecturer. Even though we all agree that people are not perfect, he feels that the country still has to learn from this tragic event. Human institutions will make mistakes, but efforts must be made to prevent the preventable ones.

According to Prof. Kila, the JAMB management could not have intentionally tried to undermine the candidates’ efforts. We must first attempt to increase systemic efficiency by ensuring that hiring practices at JAMB and other institutions do not compromise competence and thoroughness. To identify the competencies that can promote human excellence for both employees and contractors, a staff audit is required. As with Caesar’s wife, measures must be made to ensure that the academic community is above reproach.

Regarding the candidate who killed himself, Prof. thinks that we need to reevaluate our societal norms, which assume that failure in any situation spells the end of the world. According to him, educators and parents need to help kids realize that failure and achievement are only two sides of the same coin. Failure is not a death sentence, and passing a progressive exam like the UTME does not confer success on a person.

Students need to be reoriented to allow those who have repeatedly failed entrance examinations like the UTME to pursue their goals of becoming professionals in all spheres of life. There is frequently a misconception that gaining admission on the first try is the secret to success in life.

There must be a more practical method to overcome such human error while preserving institutional trust and calming candidates and their families. If there is a method for fixing mistakes with little discomfort, the system’s suspicion can be allayed. There might be an instant comment on the scripts or a possibility to retake the tests. It’s good that JAMB has this planned.

Additionally, he thinks that we need to educate young people about the fact that high grades are not necessarily the end of the criteria for admission. While receiving excellent grades is admirable, in a setting where admission is competitive, high scores may be relative. For a course where the entrance cut-off score may be higher, an applicant may receive a score of 300.

As the registrar of JAMB, Prof. Oloyede accepted full responsibility with tears in her eyes, according to the Roundtable Conversation. How does his colleague professor interpret it in a culture that does not view sobbing as a “manly” trait? According to him, crying is a common way for people to show their happiness or sorrow.

Given the charismatic reputation he has earned for his efforts to restructure JAMB to be more functional, it is clear that the registrar in this case understood the seriousness of the mistakes that cast doubt on his integrity.

His responses are admirable, but he needs to do more. His acceptance of accountability, however, appears thrilling in a setting where the social consequences of denying responsibility for systematic faults are numerous. The incident that resulted in such technical issues with such a significant impact that a life was tragically lost has to be thoroughly investigated.

To determine whether the problem resulted from human error or an inevitable technical fault, a forensic audit is required. The only way to prevent such incidents in the future is to do it.

Prof. Kila and the Roundtable Conversation are completely in agreement. We must handle academic procedures more thoughtfully if we accept that education is the cornerstone of any civilization. Even though this tragedy occurs on a huge scale, it is not a one-off. Perhaps social media’s ability to draw attention to the problem by sharing first-person accounts was beneficial. If we want to keep up with the times, our children’s academic futures must follow international best practices.

Aside from retaking the tests, which, incidentally, may not be possible due to affected candidates’ lack of trust in the system, some may be too confused to perform as well as they did on the first test. To deal with the trauma the problem may have caused them, the impacted candidates may require therapy. A comprehensive investigation is required, together with the identification of the offenders and, if applicable, the application of the law’s prescribed penalties. The registrar’s tears and acknowledgment of responsibility might not be sufficient.

High standards of ethics, diligence, and trustworthiness are essential in the academic environment.

If the young people who are the system’s victims and the future are reassured that those responsible for their painful experience will be held accountable, they should feel less anxious. They would also learn that there are repercussions for their actions or inaction in this way. In this case, is justice possible with JAMB?