THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said it had launched an investigation into numerous complaints regarding the recently released 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results.
The results, announced last Friday, May 9, have sparked reactions, with many candidates and Nigerians expressing dissatisfaction with the conduct of the examination on social media.
They also alleged that there were irregularities in the results released by the examination body.
On May 9, a Nigerian with the account @Timmieexx on X publicly challenged JAMB. She claimed that her brother’s exam result appeared inconsistent and urged the examination body to review it.
“Dear @JAMBHQ, my brother’s JAMB result just came out, and it’s not adding up. This is someone with a consistent record of academic excellence. We can’t accept this result. Too much effort and sleepless nights went into the preparation. This is so unfair. Please REVIEW IT!!!!!” her post read.
@Chukumapius, who identified as a retired teacher, tagged JAMB to express his concern that the result his daughter obtained didn’t reflect her hard work or match the score she achieved last year.
The reactions also followed the earlier development that showed that 78.5 per cent of the candidates who sat for the 2025 UTME scored below 200, a benchmark commonly used for admission into competitive programmes in Nigerian federal universities.
According to JAMB, of the 1,955,069 registered candidates, 1,534,654 scored below 200, while the results of 39,834 candidates were withheld for various reasons.
Reacting to this, JAMB spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, stated that the board conducted an annual review encompassing three critical stages: registration, examination, and result release.
During the examination phase, he noted that JAMB ensured that every candidate had the opportunity to sit for the test.
He also noted that JAMB had engaged experts, including members from the Computer Professionals Association of Nigeria, chief external examiners from tertiary institutions, the Educational Assessment and Research Network in Africa, measurement experts, and vice chancellors from various universities, to assist in the investigation.
“The review will scrutinise the registration, examination, and result release stages to identify potential technical issues.
“The Board’s annual review encompasses three key stages: registration, examination, and result release. During the examination phase, JAMB ensures that every candidate is afforded the opportunity to sit for the test. Should any technical issues arise, the Board reschedules the examination for affected candidates without hesitation,” Benjamin said.
“We are currently scrutinising these complaints in detail to identify and rectify any potential technical issues,” he stated.
He assured that if the investigation confirmed any technical glitches, JAMB would take immediate corrective measures, which might include the rescheduling of exams for affected candidates.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M