Mass Failure: JAMB Takes Action After Students Protest UTME Results

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB said they’ve engaged top IT experts and educational assessment professionals to investigate alleged technical glitches that marred the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

So many students have taken to the Social media to protest their results with many of them calling for a review and asking JAMB to provide further clarifications. Over 1.5 million candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and scored below 200 have petitioned the Board, demanding the release of the questions and corresponding answers administered to them during the exam.

The demand was made through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by their legal representatives, John C. Nwobodo, Esq., and M.C. Agbo, Esq., on behalf of the aggrieved candidates.

• 2,031 who scored below 100
• 3,820 who scored between 100–119
• 57,419 who scored between 120–139
• 488,197 who scored between 140–159
• 983,187 who scored between 160–199

The lawyers noted that according to JAMB’s official statistics, only about 22 percent of candidates scored 200 and above, while over 70 percent fell below the 200 mark—figures they described as “the worst failure rate ever” in the history of JAMB examinations.

The legal team also raised concerns about transparency in the examination process, stating that candidates were only shown their scores per subject and aggregate total, with no visibility into the questions they answered or the system’s marking logic.

They argued that reconfiguring JAMB’s system to display both questions and answers would not only validate the current results but also restore public trust and guide possible reforms for future examinations.

Responding to the concerns in a statement on Monday, JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said the exam body had hired experts to interrogate its system.

He said the move was part of an accelerated system-wide review, prompted by what it described as “unusual complaints” from a few states across the country regarding the conduct of the examination.

“To assist in this process, we have engaged a number of experts, including members from the Computer Professionals Association of Nigeria, Chief External Examiners who are heads of tertiary institutions, the Educational Assessment and Research Network in Africa, measurement experts, and Vice Chancellors from various institutions,” said

He added that the investigation was part of the board’s annual post-examination review, which covers all aspects of the UTME process—from registration to examination and the release of results.

“If it is determined that there were indeed glitches, we will implement appropriate remedial measures promptly, as we do in the case of the examinations themselves,” he said.

While JAMB acknowledged the complaints, it emphasised that the concerns were not widespread but came from a limited number of locations.

Nevertheless, the board assured that all candidates would be given a fair opportunity and that any valid issues would be addressed without delay.

During the UTME period, the board noted, any candidate affected by verified technical problems is typically rescheduled for a new examination date to ensure fairness.