After widespread concerns and confusion among candidates, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially admitted to technical errors that affected the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results.
Addressing journalists at a press conference in Abuja, JAMB Registrar, Professor Is–haq Oloyede, offered an apology to candidates, taking full responsibility for the mishap and confirming that 379,997 candidates will be given a second chance to sit the examination.
According to Professor Oloyede, the issue stemmed from faulty server updates that disrupted the uploading of candidates’ responses during the first three days of the UTME. This glitch went undetected before the results were released, resulting in widespread discrepancies—especially in scores recorded at certain centres.
The affected candidates, 206,610 in 65 centres across Lagos State and 173,387 in 92 centres in the South-East zone (which includes Imo, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu), will now retake the exam between Friday, 16 May and Sunday, 18 May.
“I appeal to the candidates and those affected by the error of our system to accept this explanation as the truth of the matter without embellishment,”;; Oloyede said. “Please, I apologise and take full responsibility, not just in words.”;;
The registrar became visibly emotional while speaking, emphasising that the board had already begun a thorough review of the results after receiving a wave of complaints, particularly from candidates with a strong academic track record who scored lower than expected.
JAMB has traced the cause of the issue to one of its two technical service providers. An error occurred when a software patch meant to shuffle answer options was not correctly applied on all delivery servers. According to the press release, the fault lay specifically in the LAG examination zone, which spans parts of the South-West, South-East, and parts of the North.
To prevent further damage, JAMB moved swiftly by engaging independent psychometricians and computer scientists to audit its systems. These experts confirmed the issue was isolated to 157 centres out of a total of 882 nationwide.
Oloyede also disclosed that JAMB is working closely with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), currently overseeing the WASSCE, to avoid clashes in exam timetables. Any student with a conflict, particularly on Friday during Agricultural Science, will be rescheduled.
Affected candidates will receive notifications through text messages, email, phone calls, and updates on their JAMB profiles. They are also expected to reprint their examination slips for the rescheduled dates.
Professor Oloyede closed his address with a renewed commitment to transparency, promising that corrective measures would be put in place to prevent a repeat of such a costly mistake.
Read the full press release below:
— JAMB (@JAMBHQ) May 14, 2025
