The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the technical issues that led to widespread failures in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This follows the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by Representative Adewale Adebayo from Osun State during Thursday’s plenary.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announced the release of the 2025 UTME results on May 9, revealing that more than 78% of candidates scored below 200 out of a possible 400 points. In response to public outcry, JAMB conducted an internal review and discovered a major technical error that compromised the results of 379,997 candidates.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, attributed the problem to server malfunctions in Lagos and the South-East, caused by flawed updates from one of the board’s technical service providers. He confirmed that the issue disrupted the upload of candidates’ responses during the first three days of the exam and went unnoticed until after the results had been released.
To remedy the situation, JAMB has scheduled a makeup exam for all affected candidates, which will take place from May 16 to May 19, 2025.
While presenting his motion, Rep. Adebayo highlighted the hardships many candidates and their families faced, including long-distance travel to test centers, only to receive flawed results. He emphasized the need for a thorough investigation to prevent future failures of this nature.
During the debate, Rep. Sada Soli from Katsina praised the JAMB Registrar for his openness in acknowledging the error and issuing a public apology. He also commended Oloyede’s broader efforts to reform the agency and improve its revenue generation. However, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas noted that it would be up to the investigating committee to decide whether the Registrar should be officially commended.
The motion was unanimously passed through a voice vote.
Additionally, the House urged the Federal Government to:
Establish Computer-Based Test (CBT) centers in every Local Government Area to enhance access to exams;
Direct JAMB to release the results of candidates under 16 years old, whose scores had previously been withheld.
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