UTME in Chaos: JAMB Admits Software Glitch Falsified Scores, Over 370,000 Candidates Affected
In an unprecedented admission, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has confirmed that technical errors significantly distorted the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results for hundreds of thousands of candidates across the country.
Speaking at a press conference held in Abuja on Tuesday, Prof. Oloyede revealed that a faulty software update—meant to randomly shuffle questions—backfired, leading to widespread scoring anomalies. The glitch affected at least 206,610 candidates in Lagos and 173,387 candidates across the South-East region, throwing the credibility of this year’s UTME into question.
“We take full responsibility for the disruption and sincerely apologise to the affected candidates and their families,” Oloyede stated, calling the incident an “unfortunate but correctable error.”
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According to the Registrar, the bug disrupted the uploading and marking of candidates’ responses in 157 exam centres. JAMB has now scheduled resit examinations for all affected students, beginning Friday, May 16, 2025. Affected candidates are being contacted via SMS, email, and phone calls, and are advised to reprint their slips for updated exam details.
To avoid a clash with the ongoing West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exams, JAMB has reportedly coordinated with WAEC to ensure smooth scheduling for students writing both exams.
The revelation has sparked nationwide outrage from candidates, parents, and education stakeholders, with many questioning JAMB’s technological preparedness and oversight.
“This is not just a technical failure; it’s an emotional and academic disaster for students who prepared for months,” said Mrs. Adaku Obasi, a parent whose son’s score dropped unexpectedly.
Despite the uproar, Prof. Oloyede insisted that JAMB remains committed to transparency, fairness, and restoring trust in its examination processes.
As tension builds, affected candidates now face the double burden of preparing again and hoping their new results will finally reflect their efforts—without interference from another glitch.
