* Admits widespread mix-up
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it would reschedule 379,997 candidates affected by technical glitches in the five states of the South East and Lagos to retake the Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said: “206,610 in 65 centres were affected in Lagos and 92 centres in the Owerri zone comprising 173,387 candidates in the five states of the South East were affected.”
Oloyede, who took responsibility for what he described as a “sabotage” of the 2025 UTME, said the affected candidates will start getting text messages from the Board starting Thursday.
He added: “The affected candidates will start getting text messages for rescheduling starting from tomorrow.
“What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors,” Oloyede stated.
The UTME, which is a key gateway into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, assesses candidates in four subjects, including the compulsory Use of English and three others based on the student’s chosen field.
Out of the 1.9 million candidates who sat for the exam, more than 1.5 million scored below 200 out of the total 400 marks — a result that has sparked widespread concern in the education sector.
According to JAMB, 1,955,069 results were processed. Of this figure, only 4,756 candidates (0.24%) scored 320 and above, while 7,658 candidates (0.39%) scored between 300 and 319, bringing the total number of candidates who scored 300 and above to just 12,414 (0.63%).
A further breakdown showed 73,441 candidates (3.76%) scored between 250 and 299, while 334,560 (17.11%) scored between 200 and 249.
The majority — 983,187 candidates (50.29%) — scored between 160 and 199, which is often considered the minimum threshold for admission in many tertiary institutions.
Additionally, 488,197 (24.97%) scored between 140 and 159; 57,419 (2.94%) scored between 120 and 139; 3,820 (0.20%) scored between 100 and 119; and 2,031 candidates (0.10%) scored below 100.
In total, over 75% of the candidates scored below 200, considered the average mark for an examination graded over 400.
Following the development, some affected candidates have threatened to take legal action against JAMB.
Of the 1.9 million candidates who sat the UTME, over 1.5 million reportedly scored below 200 out of the maximum 400 marks, raising concerns across the education sector.
