The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has confirmed that a total of 379,997 candidates in Lagos and South-East Nigeria will retake the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) following major technical errors that affected the integrity and performance of the original tests.

This announcement, delivered by JAMB Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede during an emotional press briefing in Abuja, came amidst growing criticism over the widespread failure rate in the recent examination cycle. Oloyede, acknowledging the severity of the mishap, openly took full responsibility for the incident and offered a public apology, even shedding tears during the briefing.

Error in Exam Delivery Prompts Retake

According to Professor Oloyede, the technical issues arose after JAMB introduced a mandatory shuffling of multiple-choice answer options following mock examination reviews. While this change was intended to enhance the integrity of the exam process, it led to unintended disruptions.

During the actual UTME, which began in April 2025, it became clear that an omission in exam item updates had affected many candidates, particularly in the LAG and KAD zones—short for Lagos and Kaduna clusters. Most significantly, the glitch impacted the LAG engine, which powers exam systems in both the South-West and South-East regions.

Oloyede explained, “While testing had been done, a technical oversight by one of our service providers led to patch errors on some delivery servers. This caused questions to be improperly displayed or graded in 157 out of 882 exam centres across the country.”

Breakdown of Affected Candidates

• Lagos Zone: 65 centres affected, impacting 206,610 candidates

• Owerri Zone (South-East States): 92 centres affected, involving 173,387 candidates

Combined, these errors disrupted the exam performance of 379,997 candidates, who will now retake the UTME in a special sitting starting Friday, May 16, 2025.

Affected students will receive official notifications via SMS, email, their JAMB profiles, and even direct phone calls, guiding them on the details of their rescheduled exams. They have also been advised to reprint their exam slips immediately.

Registrar Offers Emotional Apology

Oloyede described the development as “a painful blow to JAMB’s credibility,” but praised the board’s transparency in acknowledging and fixing the error. He added:

“Despite identifying the source of the issue, we know the harm it caused to our reputation and the distress it inflicted on our young candidates and their families. As JAMB registrar, I accept full responsibility, not only for our failure but also for the negligence of our service provider. I am truly sorry.”

He emphasized that it was not a case of external sabotage but rather a technical lapse on the part of one of the two key service providers. He reassured the public that remedial steps had been taken and all future examinations would be better secured against such failures.

Oloyede also invoked the humility of sincere remorse, saying, “Please, thank you, and I am sorry—these are powerful words. I use all three today. Please forgive us. Thank you for your patience. And I am sorry, not just in words but in responsibility.”

Fallout From a Record Failure Rate

The announcement of the retake follows widespread alarm over the massive failure witnessed in the 2025 UTME. Out of approximately 1.9 million candidates, over 1.5 million scored below 200 out of 400—a failure rate exceeding 70%.

This historic low triggered backlash from education stakeholders, parents, civil society groups, and legal advocates. Critics have argued that such a high failure rate indicates more than poor preparation on the part of students.

One particularly significant development saw John Nwobodo & Associates, a law firm, submit a formal request to JAMB demanding the release of the questions and answer keys for all 1.5 million affected candidates. The firm, representing these candidates, alleged potential software malfunction or grading irregularities.

Stakeholders Demand Reform

Education watchers have long complained about the reliability of Nigeria’s standardized testing systems. The 2025 UTME experience has only added fuel to these concerns. Many observers say the incident reflects systemic problems in Nigeria’s digital testing infrastructure.

The discrepancy between test-day performance and expected results has raised pressing questions about the security and accuracy of computer-based testing (CBT), which JAMB has championed in recent years as a more modern and transparent method of evaluating university applicants.

In response, JAMB said it conducted an internal review of the examination process and performance outcomes, and decided that fairness demanded a resit for all affected candidates, regardless of their original scores.

What’s Next for Affected Candidates

Candidates set to retake the UTME will sit for the examination this weekend, starting from Friday, May 16. JAMB says these exams will be tightly monitored to ensure accuracy, transparency, and fairness.

Additionally, stakeholders are urging the board to make public the results of the technical audit, so the public can better understand what went wrong and how such issues will be prevented in future cycles.

Meanwhile, the board reiterated that its commitment to fairness and transparency remains unchanged. It also pledged that no candidate would be unfairly penalized for failures caused by the system.

A Crucial Test for Nigeria’s Education Sector

This episode stands as a critical moment for both JAMB and the larger Nigerian education system. Beyond the technical lapses, it has drawn attention to broader structural challenges such as:

• Poor digital infrastructure

• Inadequate testing oversight

• Limited contingency planning

• A trust deficit between education regulators and the public

As JAMB races to regain its credibility and reassure Nigerians, many are hoping that this painful episode leads to long-term reforms that prioritize both student welfare and system integrity.

For now, all eyes are on the rescheduled UTME this weekend—and the nearly 380,000 candidates counting on a fair second chance.