JAMB Blames 'Divine Interference' for 2025 UTME Mass Failure

 By: Manoah kikekon 

JAMB Cites "God’s Will" for 2025 UTME Technical Failures, Announces Exam Resit

Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede 

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has attributed the widespread technical glitches in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to divine intervention, quoting the proverb: “Man Proposes, God Disposes." 

In a controversial post on its official X (Twitter) handle, JAMB stated that despite rigorous preparations, a technical failure disrupted exams in 157 out of 887 centers, leading to abnormally low scores for affected candidates.  

admitted the errors during a press conference in Bwari, apologizing and announcing a resit scheduled for May 16–18, 2025. Affected candidates will receive SMS alerts to reprint their exam slips.  

Preliminary results revealed alarming statistics: 1.9 million candidates sat for the UTME.  Over 1.5 million (80%) scored below 200/400 the benchmark for most universities.  Only 0.63% (12,414 candidates) scored 300 and above. 50.29% (983,187 candidates) fell within the 160–199 range.  

The board clarified that the glitch was isolated to specific centers but had a cascading effect on overall performance. Oloyede assured transparency, promising:  

1. Free resit exams for impacted candidates.  

2. SMS notifications for slip reprinting by Thursday.  

3. Enhanced tech checks to prevent future issues.  

 

The "act of God" defense sparked backlash on social media, with critics accusing JAMB of evading accountability. Education analysts demand:  Independent audit of JAMB’s systems.  Compensation for affected families. Reforms to safeguard exam integrity.