A major error has impacted the 2025 UTME results, affecting close to 380,000 JAMB candidates nationwide. This article outlines the cause of the issue, identifies those affected, and provides guidance on the next steps. Keep reading if you or someone you know took part in the exam.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has confirmed a technical fault affected the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results. The problem involved server updates that failed to record candidate responses during the first three days of the exam.
This issue impacted 157 test centres in Lagos and the south-east zone, affecting 379,997 candidates in total.
Areas and candidates that are affected
Two major regions saw the most disruption:
- Lagos State: 65 centres, 206,610 candidates
- South-East Zone: 92 centres, 173,387 candidates
JAMB explained that the error came from a technical service provider. Their staff did not properly install a software update on all servers. Because of this, some computers failed to upload student answers correctly before marking began.
How JAMB is fixing the problem
JAMB has planned a rescheduled UTME for all affected candidates. The new exams will begin Friday, 16 May 2025. Every affected student will get a new examination slip showing the updated details.
Notifications will be sent through:
- SMS
- Direct phone calls
If your name is on the affected list, check your phone or email regularly and reprint your slip as soon as possible.
How this affects WAEC exams
To avoid a clash with the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), JAMB has worked with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC). The goal is to make sure students can sit both exams without missing either.
Understanding the reason for low 2025 UTME scores
JAMB announced the 2025 UTME results on May 9, revealing that the majority of candidates scored below 200 out of 400. This sparked nationwide concern, with many suspecting that the low scores pointed to deeper flaws in the examination process.
According to JAMB, a new system of shuffled answer options was introduced to enhance fairness. However, during the implementation of this feature, technical issues emerged in the LAG zone servers—responsible for handling data from the South-West, South-East, and parts of the North—resulting in grading errors.
What JAMB is doing to prevent future issues
After the problem became public, JAMB launched a fast-track review of the system. The board called in independent experts, including psychometricians and computer scientists, to examine what went wrong.
The JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, accepted full responsibility in an emotional speech. He said,
“I hold myself personally responsible, including for the negligence of the service provider. I unreservedly apologise for it.”
He added that while the board tested its system before the UTME, some updates were not applied correctly on certain servers, leading to missing data during marking.
What to do if you’re affected
If you sat your UTME in one of the 157 affected centres:
- Check your SMS and email regularly.
- Reprint your UTME slip as instructed by JAMB.
- Prepare for your rescheduled exam on or after 16 May 2025.
- Stay calm and follow updates on JAMB’s official channels.
JAMB has promised to mark the rescheduled exams fairly and avoid overlaps with other national tests.
For full updates, visit the official JAMB website and check the UTME reprint portal
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