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JAMB technical issues. StartSmart Nigeria reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially announced the rescheduling of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for over 379,000 candidates. These candidates were affected by severe technical issues experienced in 157 examination centres across the country.
According to JAMB, the disruption occurred due to a failure in updating delivery servers by a service provider. This glitch led to the loss of candidate responses in some centres, particularly those located in Lagos and the South-East zone. JAMB technical issues.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, confirmed in a press briefing in Abuja that 65 centres in Lagos (affecting 206,610 candidates) and 92 centres in Owerri (covering 173,387 candidates) were affected by the issue. The error was detected on the second day of the exam, April 25, 2025. JAMB technical issues
Prof. Oloyede, who described the incident as a form of “sabotage,” took full responsibility and apologized, stating, “What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors. I apologies, and I take full responsibility.” JAMB technical issues
As of Thursday, May 15, 2025, the board has begun sending reschedule notifications via SMS, email, and direct calls. Affected candidates are expected to: JAMB technical issues
- Reprint their JAMB exam slips to confirm new exam dates and venues
- Prepare to take the rescheduled UTME between Friday, May 16, and Monday, May 19, 2025
- Follow all official communication from JAMB through their registered contact details
To ensure fairness and transparency, JAMB has also announced a collaboration with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). This will help avoid scheduling clashes between UTME and the ongoing WASSCE, particularly for subjects like Agricultural Science. JAMB technical issues
JAMB also reassured candidates that the overlap in Literature texts between WASSCE and UTME should minimize the burden of preparing for both exams. However, the Use of English paper in UTME contains a unique passage contributing just 10 marks, which candidates should be aware of.
The mass failure and discrepancies in the 2025 UTME results have triggered national concern. Over 1.5 million of the 1.9 million UTME candidates scored below 200, raising questions about the integrity of the testing process.
Earlier this week, JAMB announced the formation of a high-level panel consisting of stakeholders like vice-chancellors, school principals, and technical experts to review the exam conduct and recommend improvements.
As the board moves to restore public confidence, the decision to reschedule affected candidates is seen as a crucial step toward fairness and accountability.
Stay tuned to StartSmart Nigeria for the latest updates on UTME, WASSCE, and other educational news affecting students in Nigeria.
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