Julius OkorieSince the release of this year’s University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), results conducted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) the nation has known no peace.
Stakeholders and non-stakeholders alike have lend their voices to the controversy that has been generated by the outcome of the examination that saw a record 1,955,069 candidates participating.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAnd why not? With a record 1.5 million recorded to have scored below 200, no one can afford not to be concerned. We are talking about a whopping 78.5 per cent.Only 0.63 per cent (12,421 candidates) scored 300 and above, while a total of 24,535 candidates scored less than 100 marks.
Note That 2025 Is The Third Worst Result Since 2016:
Interestingly or ironically, it is not the first time that mass failure will be recorded in the UTME. As a matter of fact, statistics indicate that the 2025 episode is the third worst result since 2016.
Available statistics show that the worst performance over the 10-year period occurred in 2021 when 87.2 per cent of the candidates scored below 200 mark. About 1.14 million candidates obtained scores below 200 (out of 400) in 2021.
The second worst performance occurred in 2020 when 79.2 per cent of the candidates for the UTME exam that year, representing 1.54 million, obtained scores below 200, the 2025 edition indicating that 78.5% scored below 200.
Basketful of reasons have been adduced by many for this rather embarrassing outcome and interestingly none of the reasons put forward can completely be exonerated from this calamity.
JAMB’s Poor Organisation And Insensitivity:
For a board that has been in existence and has been conduction examinations since 1978 one would have thought that it has garnered enough experience and over the years.
READ ALSO:Why You Must Pass O/Levels Before Attempting JAMB
That it would have learnt how to checkmate unforeseen circumstances ranging from case of ill-equipped examinations centres, to malfunctioning of systems and even accreditation and posting of candidates. One of the painful parts of this year’s dismal outing is reported posting of students to venues miles away from their resident coupled with reported accreditation of candidates as early as 6.30 am amidst high level of insecurity in the land.
What chances does a candidate who wakes up in the wee hours of the day to cover miles before reaching the examination centre have?
Ill-equipped Examination Centres:
Approving ill-equipped centres for examination of this magnitude is to say the least embarrassing. There were reports of systems going off in the middle of the examination, thus throwing candidates into confusion and even erasing or submitting their work when they have not finished.
Another ugly case was recorded where malfunctioning computers prevented candidates from writing the exam.
An incident was reported at the Abimbola Excel School, Elesin, in the Amuloko area along Akanran Road, Ona Ara Local Government Area, Oyo, where frustrated candidates destroyed properties while venting their anger on the malfunctioned computers.
According to eyewitness accounts, the candidates, who had been waiting anxiously for hours, lost their cool after repeated system failures which prevented the scheduled UTME from holding.
Despite several attempts by the centre operators to rectify the issue, the technical problems persisted, leaving hundreds of candidates stranded and restless. This call to question the criteria used in approving centres for the exams. Some Centres may indeed have computers mounted looking neat and inviting but may indeed nonfunctional.
Are there no officials that go round to check these computers, power supply and the readiness of these centres to rise to the occasion?
Nonchalant Attitude of Candidates Towards Serious Study:
To opine that reading habit is dead and buried is to put it mildly. Students are not ready to read. The so called examination fever known to older generations is no longer there. Candidates preparing for examinations go about their business as if there is nothing at stake.
Social Media influence:
Rather than devote time to reading, candidates spend more time every day and night on social media. In fact the time spent on social media following “butterflies’ in the name of idols and influencers is more than the entire hours they commit to looking into their books for a whole term. All things being equal, there is no way a candidate can pass an examination without reading, but in recent times that can happen, courtesy of examination malpractice.
Examination Malpractice has been institutionalised, it could be through a syndicate involving some officials of examination body and elements bent of bringing educational system to its knees.
This ugly scene will see materials sent through phone to candidates who manage to smuggle phones into the exam hall. It could also be through collaboration by invigilators to face the other side while malpractice is going on among other vices.
Poor Quality of Teachers:
Rising unemployment has forced many to venture into areas they are not suited just to survive. Teaching used to be a specialised area, but it is gradually becoming an all- comer’s profession.
Some school owners not ready to pay for quality, employ unqualified teachers and saddle them with the job of teaching candidates who need to face public exams.
Can anyone one indeed give what he does not have? Many of the teachers cannot even answer the questions set for the candidates they are supposed to be teaching.
All Eyes On JAMB:
Overwhelmed by the protest and complaints filed by candidates who sat for this controversial examination this year, JAMB has opted to review the entire process on Thursday May 15th. It is hoped that this X-ray will bring to the fore all that transpired to bring about this public shame. Luckily the Board has done what it ought to have done earlier.
The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, responded to the growing controversy surrounding the 2025 UTME results.
He apologised for failing UTME candidates and their parents. He attributed the mass failure in JAMB to systemic failure, informing that all affected centres, 65 of them, will retake the exams on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Lagos and other centres in the South.
When JAMB explains in full all that happened as promised tomorrow, it is important that drastic action be taken to avoid a repeat of this occurrence and as for candidates, it remains instructive irrespective of all other shortfalls that there is not alternative to reading for examinations.
Even those who neither read nor put efforts in the exams now have a general story to tell, “JAMB failed us.” End of story!
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
