JAMB to Offer Special Resit for Candidates Who Missed 2025 UTME Amid Controversy

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced it will offer a resit opportunity for candidates who were unable to take the test during the initial examination window.

The decision was revealed by JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, during a high-level meeting in Abuja on Wednesday. The gathering included chief external examiners, civil society organisations, and key stakeholders from Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

This development follows widespread complaints from candidates who said they missed their exams in April due to being assigned to distant or inaccessible testing centres. The situation sparked national concern and led to scrutiny of JAMB’s operations.

After releasing the 2025 UTME results on May 9, a breakdown revealed that over 78 percent of candidates scored below 200 out of a possible 400 points—an outcome that triggered protests and raised serious questions about the integrity of the examination process.

An internal review by JAMB uncovered what it described as a major “technical error.” According to Oloyede, the results of 379,997 candidates across 157 centres in Lagos and the South-East were compromised due to server failures during the first three days of the UTME.

“These were not ordinary technical glitches,” Oloyede explained. “They were the result of faulty server updates by one of our service providers, which unfortunately went undetected until after the results were released.”

In response, JAMB conducted a resit examination between May 16 and May 19, targeting the affected candidates. According to Oloyede, about 95 per cent of those slated for the resit in Lagos and the South-East participated.

However, to accommodate the remaining 5.6 per cent—along with other candidates who missed the initial exam for any reason—JAMB is organising a special nationwide “mop-up” exercise.

“Normally, we hold one mop-up nationwide for those with one issue or another,” the registrar said. “This time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence, we will extend this opportunity to them.”

The situation has drawn political attention. On May 15, the House of Representatives resolved to launch a formal probe into the UTME technical failures. Meanwhile, on April 19, the South-East caucus in the House demanded Oloyede’s resignation and called for the cancellation of the 2025 UTME, urging a fresh round of examinations.