…Re – Mass failure:JAMB Director Weeps as Error Forces UTME Resits in Lagos, S’East
The article titled “Mass failure: JAMB Boss Weeps As Human Error Forces Lagos, S’East Resits”, published by Punch Nigeria on May 15, 2024, reports that the Director of Administration at the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) broke down in tears over the widespread failure of students during the rescheduled Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in Lagos State, an incident attributed to human error.
Firstly, JAMB registrar said mass failure was a sign that JAMB did well by successfully block access to exam malpractice. Seconly, JAMB registrar said the result was consistent with past records of scores. Lastly, JAMB registrar finally tearfully admitted liability for mass failure.
Now, lets carefully present and analyse the details of results that actually played out:
1. The mass failure was recorded in Lagos state and the entire South Eastern states.
2. More than 65% of candidates in Lagos are non Yorubas and Northerners.
3. Less than 3% of candidates in South Eastern states are from western and northern states.
Critical Analysis
– Human Error: The article highlights a significant issue with human error in a high-stakes examination process. This raises questions about the quality control measures in place to prevent such mistakes.
– Mass Failure: The fact that many students failed the examination after a human error forced a resit raises concerns about the preparedness of students and the examination process itself.
– Emotional Response: The emotional response of the JAMB Director of Administration, weeping, suggests a level of empathy and concern for the students’ plight.
Assessment
– Examination Process: The incident highlights the need for robust quality control measures to prevent human errors in high-stakes examinations.
– Student Preparedness: The mass failure of students raises questions about the preparedness of students for the examination and the effectiveness of the education system.
– Institutional Response: The response of JAMB and the examination authorities will be crucial in determining how to mitigate the impact of the human error and ensure that students are not unfairly disadvantaged.
Recommendations
– Quality Control Measures: JAMB should implement robust quality control measures to prevent human errors in the examination process.
– Student Support: The authorities should provide support to students who failed the examination, including counseling and remedial programs.
– Transparency and Accountability: There should be a transparent investigation into the cause of the human error, and those responsible should be held accountable.
Again, the article discusses the mass failure of students in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the subsequent calls for the sack of JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede. Here’s a positive assessment of the response:
Transparency and Accountability
– Acknowledging Errors: Professor Oloyede admitted to errors in the examination process, showcasing transparency and accountability. He took full responsibility for the mistakes, citing “carelessness, negligence, and lack of concern” by the service providers.
– Investigation and Solution: JAMB conducted an immediate audit, identified the affected centers, and scheduled re-examinations for the impacted candidates.
Commitment to Quality Assurance
– Quality Control Measures: Oloyede emphasized JAMB’s commitment to quality assurance, highlighting the various committees and experts involved in ensuring the integrity of the examination process.
– Technical Expertise: JAMB deployed high-profile organizations to test their systems, simulated examinations, and upgraded their software to prevent errors
Stakeholder Engagement
– Collaboration with Experts: Oloyede engaged with experts, including professors of psychometrics and computer science, to investigate and resolve the issue.
– Communication with Candidates: JAMB assured candidates that they would be contacted via text messages, emails, and phone calls to retake their examinations.
Criticism and Areas for Improvement
– Criticism of JAMB’s Response: Some critics argue that the re-examination process may cause further trauma to affected candidates.
– Systemic Issues: Concerns were raised about the integrity and security of the examination system, highlighting the need for JAMB to address these issues to prevent future errors.
However, Omoyele Sowore’s has called for the sack of JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, and the scrapping of JAMB has sparked intense debate. Here’s a balanced assessment of his response:
Positive Aspects
– Accountability: Sowore’s demand for accountability from JAMB and its Registrar is understandable, given the widespread outrage over the examination errors that affected many students.
– Advocacy: His advocacy for the resignation and possible prosecution of Prof. Oloyede highlights the need for leaders to take responsibility for their actions and decisions.
– Student Welfare: Sowore’s concern for the welfare of students, particularly in light of the tragic death of 19-year-old Timilehin Faith Opesusi, underscores the importance of prioritizing students’ well-being.
Criticisms and Concerns
– Lack of Nuance: Some critics argue that Sowore’s response lacks nuance, failing to acknowledge JAMB’s efforts to rectify the situation, such as re-scheduling exams for affected candidates.
– Overreaction: Others see Sowore’s demand for JAMB’s scrapping as an overreaction, considering the organization’s attempts to address the issues and provide solutions.
Context and Complexity
Technical Issues: JAMB has admitted to technical errors in the 2025 UTME, which affected over 370,000 candidates in Lagos and the South East.
– Registrar’s Response: Prof. Oloyede has taken responsibility for the errors, apologized to affected candidates, and broken down in tears during a press conference, demonstrating empathy and accountability ³ ².
Ultimately, while Sowore’s concerns about accountability and student welfare are valid, the complexity of the situation and JAMB’s efforts to address the issues should be considered when evaluating his response.
To the esteemed members of the press and the general public.
This is to acknowledge and respond to the recent press statement issued by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, regarding the glitches experienced in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results.
Understanding the Glitch
We appreciate Prof. Oloyede’s transparency in explaining the cause of the error, which affected 206,610 candidates in Lagos and 173,387 candidates in the South East states. The Registrar attributed the glitch to a failed patch meant to update examination servers in the region, specifically in 65 centers in Lagos and 92 centers in the South East.
Measures Taken
We note that JAMB has taken immediate action to rectify the situation, including:
– Rescheduling Affected Candidates: Candidates affected by the glitch will retake their examinations starting from Friday, May 16, 2025.
– Collaboration with WAEC: JAMB has contacted WAEC, and the council has graciously agreed to accommodate the rescheduled examinations within their time slots.
Commitment to Transparency and Fairness
We commend Prof. Oloyede for taking full responsibility for the error and apologizing for the inconvenience caused. JAMB’s commitment to transparency, fairness, and equity is evident in their prompt response and efforts to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Observation and Conclusion
Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has in recent times been over concerned; advocating for the establishment of Sharia panels in the South-West region of Nigeria rather than minding his business at the JAMB’s office. As the Secretary-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, he has been so encumbered with the advocacy of his negative belief that these panels will promote religious harmony according to Islamic law, leaving his own job undone.
One would have expected Prof. Oloyede’s with a background
as a professor of Islamic Studies and former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Oloyede to bring significant expertise and experience to his JAMB work and assignments, however, his busybody nature has caused Nigerians this trauma and shock. He should be given appointments that are Islamic religion related rather than all these intelligent and rather sensitive positions. One could still remember the ASUU sad saga at the University of Ilorin during his tenure.
Nevertheless, one would urge all stakeholders to please calm down, especially because of his repentance, acknowledgement and apology and still support JAMB’s efforts in ensuring the integrity of the examination process. Hopefully, the measures taken by JAMB will help to mitigate the impact of the glitch and ensure a fair outcome for all candidates.
Background
A technical review conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has revealed that a critical oversight in server updates, coupled with human error, led to the invalidation of results for 379,997 candidates in the five states of the South East and Lagos State who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
JAMB partnered with the Educare Technical Team, an independent tech partner, to verify the scale of the impact. Data was gathered from over 18,000 candidates, and after cleansing, about 15,000 authentic response logs were analysed.
The revelation was made during a high-level technical review session held on Wednesday at JAMB’s headquarters in Abuja.
The emergency meeting, chaired by JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, was convened in response to the widespread outcry that followed the release of unusually low scores from the 2025 UTME the previous Friday.
Data revealed that over 1.5million candidates out of the 1.9million candidates, whose results were released by the board, scored less than 200 marks.
According to the report, the error was rooted in the uneven deployment of a critical server patch required to support major innovations introduced in this year’s UTME.
While these upgrades were correctly applied to servers in the Kaduna (KAD) cluster, they were not deployed to the Lagos (LAG) cluster, which services Lagos and the South-East region.
This led to widespread mismatches in answer interpretation and validation.
“Over 14,000 of those records were traced to the affected centres under the LAG server cluster,” the report confirmed, adding that internal and external audits showed significant overlap in results, supporting the conclusion of systemic malfunction.
“As a result, approximately 92 centres in the South-East and 65 centres in Lagos — totalling 157 centres — operated using outdated server logic that could not appropriately handle the new answer submission/marking structure. This affected an estimated 379,997 candidates, whose results were severely impacted due to system mismatches during answer validation,” the report stated.
It added, “This review, conducted with thoroughness and transparency, signifies JAMB’s resolve to uphold the sanctity of its examination processes. Going forward, stronger deployment validation protocols and real-time monitoring mechanisms will be implemented to prevent such oversights.
“In summary, JAMB opened its systems to independent reviews to restore public confidence and ensure the reliability of the UTME for all stakeholders. And we hereby report, that this incident was neither a system failure nor administrative manipulation, but an outright human error.”
Speaking during the press briefing in Abuja, Oloyede broke down in tears while addressing issues surrounding the results, admitting that the errors were caused by a systemic failure.
He stated that the affected 379,997 candidates would resit the examination.
“In simple terms, while 65 centres (206,610) were affected in Lagos Zone (comprising only Lagos), 92 centres (173,387) were affected in Owerri Zone, which includes the South East states.
“In clear terms, in the process of rectifying this issue, the technical personnel deployed by the service provider inadvertently failed to update some of the delivery services. Regrettably, this oversight went undetected prior to the release of the results.”
Speaking further, Oloyede noted that the board was able to isolate the affected centres, adding that a resit would be organised for the affected candidates.
“We have decided that all the candidates affected in the 157 centres out of 882 centres will be contacted to retake their examinations starting from Friday, May 16, 2025. These candidates are to be contacted through text messages addressed to their registered phones,” the JAMB boss added.
“I understand that there are three powerful expressions which contain one word, two words and three words respectively. They are please, thank you and I am sorry. So, I appeal to the candidates and those affected by the error of our system to accept this explanation as the truth of the matter without embellishment, PLEASE. I apologise and take full responsibility, not just in words.
“Then, I want to say a big THANK YOU to the Honourable Minister of Education for his unwavering belief in JAMB and what the board stands for. I also appreciate all officers and officials who believe in us for their goodwill in the face of this challenge. We have vowed to uphold integrity as the abiding philosophy of JAMB and we won’t waver or depart from it despite the fact that we are not infallible. I am equally grateful to all stakeholders who have lent us their support and expertise in arriving at a logical conclusion that we have arrived at. And for the inconveniencies, once again, on behalf of JAMB, I say, I AM SORRY to all Nigerians.”
Reactions:
However, reactions have trailed the saga with calls for the resignation of the JAMB registrar heightened on Wednesday following the revelation. An education analyst, Jacob Sule, who posted on X via his account @jacobsule asked that the registrar stepped aside.
“A country should not be governed by emotions or personal sentiments. Given the circumstances, the Registrar, Professor Oloyede, should be asked to step aside immediately to allow for a full scale independent and transparent investigation.
“Additionally, the Registrar must publicly retract his earlier statements and issue a formal apology to the affected students who have endured undue stress and discomfort. Accountability and empathy are essential in restoring public trust in our institutions.”
Samoal Fred, also on X, stated, “Instead of shedding crocodile tears, while some irresponsible adults applauded in the audience, Prof. Oloyede should have tendered his resignation. That was the least he could have done.”
Ajao Olumota, who posted via @MrGatsby, added, “Oloyede should please resign. This is disgraceful from him.”.Funsho Olushola, who posted on X via @abolajijnr, said, “Someone lost her life already. Oloyede should be in jail already. Everyone responsible should resign and face the law. Inept organization.”
Meanwhile, angry parents of underage candidates demanded that their children’s results be released by the board. One of the parents, who identified herself simply as Mr. Ashaolu, told The PUNCH in Abuja, “We don’t understand why the board has refused to release the results of the under 16 candidates. Why subject these candidates to trauma? They sat the examinations and should have access to their results.”
Mrs Abiodun Ashimolowo added, “My daughter has been bothered. Why will you hold unto their results because they are underage? Where in the world is that done?” Also, the President, Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Danjuma Haruka, commended Oloyede for openly admitting to the technical glitches that affected the UTME candidates.
Haruka praised Oloyede’s honesty and called on other government agencies to emulate such transparency.
“I commend him for his openness in admitting that a mistake was made. I wish all arms of government would follow the example set by Professor Oloyede,” he said.
However, the PTA is demanding further clarity on the nature of the errors that disrupted the examination, while Professor Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies advocates his step aside as a matter of urgency if there is any president in Nigeria as Aisha Yusuf has rightly remarked.
Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies is a public commentator and multifaceted personality who has made notable contributions in various fields.
