Photo caption: Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board logo
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced that it will on Wednesday release the results of 379,000 candidates who sat the rescheduled Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination between Friday and Monday.
JAMB rescheduled the exam following widespread outcry over mass failure during the initial UTME.
The board admitted to technical and human errors, especially in Lagos and South-East states, which significantly affected candidates’ performance.
Out of the 1.9 million candidates who sat this year’s UTME, over 1.5 million scored below 200 marks out of a possible 400, prompting widespread concern among stakeholders.
Following sustained pressure, JAMB investigated the mass failure and discovered technical and human errors in its system..
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, last week publicly accepted responsibility for the errors, even shedding tears while announcing a resit for the affected candidates.
Speaking to The PUNCH on Monday, JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, confirmed that the results of the rescheduled exams would be released on Wednesday.
“The results of the candidates who took the rescheduled exam will be released on Wednesday,” Benjamin said.
Oloyede had earlier disclosed that 379,997 candidates in Lagos and the five states of the South-East were impacted by the UTME glitches.
According to him, 206,610 candidates in 65 centres across Lagos and 173,387 in 92 centres in the South-East zone were affected.
Describing the situation as “sabotage,” Oloyede said the affected candidateswould start receiving text notifications for the rescheduled exam starting last Thursday.
Of the 1,955,069 results processed from the original UTME, only 4,756 candidates (0.24 per cent) scored 320 and above. An additional 7,658 candidates (0.39 per cent) scored between 300 and 319, bringing the total number of top-tier scorers (300 and above) to 12,414 (0.63 per cent).
Meanwhile, 73,441 candidates (3.76 per cent) scored between 250 and 299, while 334,560 (17.11 per cent) scored between 200 and 249.
A total of 983,187 candidates (50.29 per cent) scored between 160 and 199, widely considered the minimum threshold for admission in many institutions. Another 488,197 (24.97 per cent) scored between 140 and 159, 57,419 (2.94 per cent) between 120 and 139, 3,820 (0.20 per cent) between 100 and 119, and 2,031 (0.10 per cent) scored below 100.
Over 75 per cent of all candidates scored below 200 in the exam graded over 400 marks, fueling national debate over the credibility and fairness of the testing process.
Meanwhile, the South-East Caucus in the House of Representatives on Monday called for the immediate resignation of JAMB Registrar over what it described as a “catastrophic institutional failure” in the conduct of the 2025 UTME.
The South-East lawmakers made the demand in a statement signed by Iduma Igariwey (PDP, Ebonyi).
They criticised poor communication, the short notice given for the rescheduled UTME, and scheduling conflicts with ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examinations, all of which they said had caused “unnecessary trauma” for students and their families.
The caucus said, “Last week, particularly on May 14, 2025, the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, made a shocking public admission that due to a ‘technical glitch’ at some examination centres during the 2025 UTME, approximately 379,997 out of 1.9 million candidates would be required to resit the exam.
“As a caucus, we are deeply concerned, as all five South-Eastern states we represent were directly affected by these so-called ‘score distortions.’
“Over the past week, we have exercised restraint, hoping that JAMB would provide effective remedial measures to address what is clearly a catastrophic institutional failure—one that has severely shaken public trust and the confidence of students and their families nationwide.”
The lawmakers called for the immediate cancellation of the 2025 UTME and the scheduling of a fresh examination, preferably after the conclusion of the ongoing WAEC and NECO exams, to avoid disadvantaging any student.
They also demanded the suspension of key officials responsible for JAMB’s digital operations and logistics, saying accountability must extend beyond public apologies.
“While we acknowledge Prof. Oloyede’s openness in admitting JAMB’s failures, we must state unequivocally that the remedial steps taken so far fall drastically short of our constituents’ expectations,” the statement added.
“JAMB’s knee-jerk, fire-brigade approach has been anything but adequate. Students in the South-East—many of whom are currently writing their WAEC examinations—were given less than 48 hours’ notice to appear for the rescheduled UTME. Reports indicate that this notice was grossly inadequate, resulting in low turnout. In some cases, the rescheduled UTME clashed directly with ongoing WAEC papers, compounding the distress and confusion for students and their families.”
Citing Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates government to ensure equal and adequate educational opportunities at all levels, the caucus argued that recent judicial pronouncements have made this provision an enforceable right for every Nigerian child.
“Sadly, for the thousands of students across the South-East, the flawed and tainted conduct of the 2025 UTME has effectively denied them that right to equal and adequate educational opportunities,” the lawmakers stated.
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