Reps to Investigate 2025 UTME Technical Glitch

The House of Representatives on Thursday resolved to investigate the technical fault that led to the widespread failure in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

This decision followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Rep. Adewale Adebayo from Osun State during plenary.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had released the results of the examination on 9th May, revealing a concerning failure rate, with over 78 per cent of candidates scoring below 200 out of a possible 400 marks. A few days later, the board acknowledged that a significant technical error had disrupted the examination process.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, explained that the scores of 379,997 candidates were affected due to server malfunctions linked to faulty updates from one of the board’s technical service providers in Lagos and the South-East zones during the first three days of the examinations.

Professor Oloyede announced that all affected candidates would retake the examination between 16th and 19th May 2025.

In his motion, Rep. Adebayo expressed concern over the trauma many candidates and their families endured, including long journeys to examination centres, only to encounter unexpected failures. He urged the House to investigate the technical fault to prevent future occurrences.

Contributing to the debate, Sada Soli from Katsina commended the JAMB Registrar for his transparency in admitting the mistake and issuing a public apology. Soli also acknowledged Professor Oloyede’s previous efforts in enhancing JAMB’s revenue generation.

However, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas noted that it would be up to the investigating committee to determine whether to commend the Registrar’s management of the situation.

The motion was unanimously adopted by a voice vote.

The House further called on the Federal Government to establish Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres in all local government areas nationwide to enhance accessibility for candidates. It also urged JAMB to immediately release the withheld results of candidates under 16 years of age.