Over 21,000 Candidates Absent as 99% Score Below 200 in Rescheduled UTME, Says JAMB

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of the rescheduled 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) conducted for candidates affected by technical disruptions in the initial exercise. Of the 336,845 candidates scheduled for the resit, 21,082—representing a staggering 93 percent—were absent. JAMB did not provide specific reasons for the high rate of absenteeism.

In a statement issued by its Public Communication Advisor, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB said that only a small percentage of candidates achieved relatively high scores, with 99 percent scoring below 200 marks. The board stated that the results reaffirmed historical performance trends observed over the past 12 years, where performance ranged between 11 and 34 percent.

As part of its resolution process, JAMB convened a meeting with its Chief External Examiners (CEEs) across the country. Following extensive deliberations, a sub-committee chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University, Professor Olufemi Peters, was tasked with confirming the validity of the results. A psychometrics expert, Professor Boniface Nworgu, was also engaged to analyze and endorse the results before their release.

The board offered a second chance to candidates who missed the rescheduled examination, allowing them to take part in a forthcoming mop-up exam. This opportunity also extends to candidates who missed the initial UTME for any reason. JAMB stressed, however, that the decision does not condone examination malpractices and urged candidates to avoid involvement in dubious online groups such as “WhatsApp Runs.”

The board further clarified that there were no high scorers in the cancelled UTME sessions held in the five southeastern states and Lagos, where technical issues disrupted testing. According to JAMB, only a few candidates scored up to 217, reinforcing that 99 percent scored below 200 in the affected states.

This clarification was prompted by what JAMB described as “opportunists” attempting to mislead the public with claims of high scores in the cancelled sessions. The board cited the example of Mr. Olisa Gabriel Chukwuemeka, a student of Adekunle Ajasin University, who falsely claimed to have scored 326 in the 2025 UTME. Investigations revealed he had doctored his actual 2024 score of 203 and that his true 2025 UTME score was 180. He has since deactivated his social media account after being exposed.

JAMB stated that all resit results have now been released except for candidates involved in infractions and those scheduled for the mop-up exam. The board also noted that recent findings, particularly those uncovered by security agencies, have led to the withdrawal of results from candidates implicated in malpractice, even where those results were initially released.