JAMB to Release Results of 379,000 Rescheduled UTME Candidates This Wednesday
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that it will release the results of 379,000 candidates who took part in the rescheduled Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) on Wednesday.
The rescheduled exam was conducted between Friday and Monday, following widespread outrage over the high rate of failure in the original UTME held earlier this year.
Out of the 1.9 million candidates who initially sat for the 2025 UTME, more than 1.5 million scored below 200 marks out of a possible 400.
The poor performance raised nationwide concern, prompting investigations into the integrity of the examination process. JAMB later admitted that both technical and human errors, particularly in Lagos and the South-East, significantly impacted results. The board’s registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, publicly accepted responsibility and even broke down in tears while announcing the resit for affected candidates.
According to JAMB, 379,997 candidates were impacted by these glitches. Specifically, 206,610 candidates in 65 centres across Lagos and 173,387 in 92 centres in the South-East were affected. Professor Oloyede described the situation as “sabotage” and assured the public that the rescheduled exams were being handled with greater scrutiny.
A detailed breakdown of the 1,955,069 results processed from the original UTME showed that only 0.24 per cent of candidates (4,756) scored 320 and above. Another 7,658 candidates (0.39 per cent) scored between 300 and 319. In total, just 12,414 candidates (0.63 per cent) achieved scores of 300 and above.
Meanwhile, 73,441 candidates (3.76 per cent) scored between 250 and 299, and 334,560 (17.11 per cent) scored between 200 and 249. The majority of candidates—983,187 (50.29 per cent)—scored between 160 and 199. Another 488,197 (24.97 per cent) scored between 140 and 159, while thousands scored below even 120.
The scale of the poor results has fueled public debate about the fairness and reliability of the UTME. Amid the outcry, the South-East Caucus in the House of Representatives has demanded the resignation of the JAMB Registrar.
In a statement signed by Hon. Iduma Igariwey (PDP, Ebonyi), the lawmakers described the situation as a “catastrophic institutional failure.” They condemned JAMB’s poor communication, the short notice given for the rescheduled exams, and the scheduling conflicts with ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WAEC), all of which they say caused unnecessary trauma for students and their families.
The caucus also called for the complete cancellation of the 2025 UTME and the scheduling of a fresh exam after the conclusion of WAEC and NECO exams. They further demanded the suspension of JAMB officials responsible for digital operations and logistics, stating that public apologies are not enough.
While acknowledging Professor Oloyede’s transparency, the lawmakers criticized the remedial actions taken so far as grossly inadequate. They argued that the flawed execution of the UTME has denied many students in the South-East their constitutional right to equal and adequate educational opportunities, as enshrined in Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution.
