NewStats: 3,263,100 , 8,179,085 topics. Date: Wednesday, 04 June 2025 at 04:54 PM 542817

The t issions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has been at the receiving end of public criticism over the mass failure recorded in the 2025 run of its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Exam (UTME).

The results from JAMB’s 2025 UTME were released on May 9. An analysis revealed that more than 78 per cent of candidates scored less than 200 points out of the 400 maximum obtainable points.

This sparked protests from parents and students who raised concerns over the integrity of the examination process. JAMB reviewed the results and itted to a technical error that compromised the integrity of the exam in 157 centres nationwide.

A teary-eyed Ishaq Oloyede apologised to the affected candidates and Nigerians in a televised conference on May 14. The JAMB registrar said the error, caused by one of its service providers, distorted the results of nearly 380,000 candidates. Lagos and south-east states were affected.

But 2025 is not the first time JAMB would be forced to annul UTME results at scale and conduct resit exams for candidates.

On September 15, 1997, JAMB had annulled 95,000 University Matriculation Examination (UME) results while releasing 376,000. Bello Salim, then the head of JAMB, said the results were cancelled after the candidates were involved in “massive widespread cheating”. He said the cheating involved impersonation and swapping of scripts.

A PM News clipping, obtained from Archive Nigeria, indicates that candidates in Lagos were the most affected. A year later, during JAMB’s celebration of its 20th anniversary, there were reports of some Nigerians agitating for its scrapping.

UTME 2025 ERROR DUE TO ANTI-MALPRACTICE MEASURE, SAYS JAMB

JAMB has scheduled a resit for all candidates affected by its 2025 UTME technical error. The resit exam is to hold between May 16 and May 19, 2025. The board said candidates will be ed directly through SMS, email, and phone calls to reprint their slips.

During Oloyede’s May 14 speech, the registrar said JAMB had tried to curb malpractice by implementing shuffled answer options. This measure, he said, was introduced following a review of 2025 mock UTME performances.

He said despite thorough testing and simulations, a software patch meant to update the system was improperly applied in some centres. This, Oloyede said, caused result distortions that affected 157 centres across Lagos and the south-east.

On May 9, Oloyede said malpractice cases are declining, with 96 results withheld for general infractions in 2025 compared to 123 in 2024.
He said while traditional impersonation and cheating persist, new forms of malpractice have emerged.

These include biometric fraud (combining fingerprints of candidates and impersonation), use of duplicate NINs to multiple times, malpractice syndicates operating on instant messaging apps, and camera smuggling into exam halls to leak questions.

In a follow-up March 11 bulletin publication, JAMB added that 244 2025 UTME results were withheld for WhatsApp-related exam fraud.

https://www.thecable.ng/rewind-in-1997-jamb-nullified-95000-ume-results-but-for-malpractice/

If the JAMB chairman apology is accepted without severe punishment, what assurance does the nation have that same mistakes will not repeat itself again?

We’re setting a standard where ability no longer matters and that’s a risk we can’t afford. This is not the best way to strengthen public institutions.

Ok

JAMB Did Not Say "Go To Court", but listened though initially hesitant, then acted with empathy to investigate to arrive @ this decision not to disadvantage some candidates. This is the ability and responsibility demanded from public office holders.

During the time of the ancestors

Jamb should just conduct tiktok exam & see the performance

Racoon:
JAMB Did Not Say "Go To Court", but listened though initially hesitant, then acted with empathy to investigate to arrive @ this decision not to disadvantage some candidates. This is the ability and responsibility demanded from public office holders.

Some of you puppets ehn!! Ahh

Racoon:
If the JAMB chairman apology is accepted without severe punishment, what assurance does the nation have that same mistakes will not repeat itself again?

We’re setting a standard where ability no longer matters and that’s a risk we can’t afford. This is not the best way to strengthen public institutions.

Severe punishment like what?

Lol Lagos go sha always dey...

So, you are very smart to be doing same thing since 1997 Is there nothing like PROGRESS in your family dictionary?

The problem with Nigeria is not the lack of Laws? We have all the best laws. What we lack is ABILITY. People should be held to . Responsibility comes with ability.

Prof Ishaq Olyede should be held to and MUST resign. This is the only honorable thing to do.

Racoon:


https://www.thecable.ng/rewind-in-1997-jamb-nullified-95000-ume-results-but-for-malpractice/

The year I scored 207! Highest score 288. I chose to study law in UI. I was not offered but was considered for Classics! I did not accept the offer!

Whether JAMB is at fault or not, students today aren't studying the way they used to. They're too distracted by the get-rich-quick mentality. I wish JAMB had the authority to conduct a fully computer-based O'Level examination alongside the UTME, it would reveal the flaws and loopholes in WAEC and NECO systems.

It's only in APC Nigeria that bad examples are used to justify government ineptitude . Shouldn't we better off as nation than who we are in 1997 jamb was created to reduce university ission because of few numbers of uni then . GEJ, OBJ created up to 4 Universities and APC has added no tangible improvement in their unproductive 10yrs
One thing you can't take away from the PDP government is management from the likes of Ezekweli, Okonjo, Sanusi, Dora even the then Jamb was better off than the rubbish we have today.
APC has done nothing than to take Nigeria backwards to the stone age, nothing is working all their appointees are a bunch of incompetent fellows

For crying out loud, please stop crucifying this man. No one is above mistake, we forget too soon. This man reduced the corruption in JAMB. The last JAMB registrar was a disaster. He has itted the fault, accepted responsibility. These are attributes of a good leader. People are clamouring for his resignation, like we don't make mistakes in our places of work. Do they ask us to resign because of it? Let's be honest, the affected students are even happy with the opportunity to resist the exams, cos most of them didn't write the exam well. If I could turn back time, there are some exams I'll like to resist.

Please free the man abeg....

Racoon:


https://www.thecable.ng/rewind-in-1997-jamb-nullified-95000-ume-results-but-for-malpractice/

Racoon:
JAMB Did Not Say "Go To Court", but listened though initially hesitant, then acted with empathy to investigate to arrive @ this decision not to disadvantage some candidates. This is the ability and responsibility demanded from public office holders.

IT IS INEXCUSABLE.
CBT RENDERS RESULTS AUTOMATICALLY.
WHAT IS THE SO CALLED GLITCH, IF NOT HUMAN TAMPERING?

Wow.... This must the era of Salim Sulaiman as the jamb Registrar... That man na bomb.... If Salim visit your centre, just pray no single complaint oooo or else the centre is gone... I 2003 for OAU centre that year... Total annulment of result like June 1993 election ni...

Salim Sulaiman.... I no go forget you ooo

Salim Sulaiman was appointed Registrar of JAMB in 1996. Salim will be ed for several innovations that have enhanced JAMB's service delivery and made it more acceptable nationally and internationally. For the examination, the question paper type or juggling of questions and answers etc.....

Good time has gone..

MrPresident1:
During the time of the ancestors

Validated:
So, you are very smart to be doing same thing since 1997 Is there nothing like PROGRESS in your family dictionary?

The problem with Nigeria is not the lack of Laws? We have all the best laws. What we lack is ABILITY. People should be held to . Responsibility comes with ability.

Prof Ishaq Olyede should be held to and MUST resign. This is the only honorable thing to do.

We already know the scheme you people want. He should be sacked or resign so that you can continue your corruption and loophole exploitation. He has blocked your malpractice ways and this is why you are crying for his sack. Yes, in a country where there are many reputable and responsible public officer, Oloyede supposed resign. However, in a country where reputable, able and transparent public officers is very scarce, then the little we have should not be sacked or resigned. He took a bold step to accept responsibility of errors of a service provider. That is a leader, and you don't have much of that in Nigeria. Yet you are calling for a sack of few you have. It is not a negligence from him, he put every resource in place, but one of the resource failed him. And he came out openly. You better think very well before you make such decisions of sack. If not that he is limited to two tenures, I will say he should continue for the next five tenure as long as he's healthy.
Meanwhile, tell me one of the ex registrars who has outperformed him?
He is a reputable person to the core.

Lies It affects only GBAJUE LAND

Racoon:


https://www.thecable.ng/rewind-in-1997-jamb-nullified-95000-ume-results-but-for-malpractice/

I was a victim of this!

Extrajudicial Killing no be today e start oooooo

Yes that's true

We are waiting for APC and INEC let's just hear them say GO TO COURT and see the kind thunder that will fire them and their families.


Criminal minded idiots with their useless ers that will all meet the devil in hell very soon.


😎😎😎😎

If you are ant America to become like Somalia in 2 years give it to those tribalism people to manage

[quote author=Racoon post=135381923]

https://www.thecable.ng/rewind-in-1997-jamb-nullified-95000-ume-results-but-for-malpractice/ In that 1997 JAMB, I scored 175.

In that 1997 JAMB, I scored 175.

Racoon:


https://www.thecable.ng/rewind-in-1997-jamb-nullified-95000-ume-results-but-for-malpractice/

I that 1997 JAMB... i was a victim as well. After preparing very hard for JAMB that year, it was my second attempt... i was sure i would score not less than 360, cos i studied super hard... only for my result not to be released. I wrote it in Lagos... And I never engaged in malpractice... I was so disheartened... This was me that had A1 in Mathematics in SSCE amongst other great results... i was so sure i was going to crush the JAMB result that year, but JAMB had other plans.

Thank God for predegree program to study Electrical/Electronics Engineering later that year...

Jamb of those era had serious malpractices and exam leakage. I laugh at people who did not know Jamb then used a defunct Afribank ONLY to sell a large Jamb form with prospectus, exams were conducted on same day and results when released can only be checked in Ikoyi office with a jamb slip . The other option is to wait for inefficient Nipost to send it to provided mailing address of candidate.

For Jamb to designate exam centres, students have to wait to receive jamb exam slip in the mail, and if they don't get one, they go to their city assigned special centre to sit for the exam. Many candidates claim to not have received the slip so as to use the special centres as it is widely believed the paper exam leaks more at the special centres and it is true to a good extent. Exam leakages happen usually 1 day before exam date.

There was no type for subjects untill 2000, when Salim, then Jamb registrar introduced it to curb malpractices. English exam question number and arrangement of options was the same for all students. 4 figure table used to be the route to smuggle and write the options.



It was a hot mess and there was no good old days but nostalgia deceiving many. Interestingly, it was hard to see candidates score above 290. Children of nowadays should not let the olodo and agbayas of then to lie to them. I opine that current candidates are smarter and more brilliant for obvious reasons like improved access to technology and information.

Racoon:


https://www.thecable.ng/rewind-in-1997-jamb-nullified-95000-ume-results-but-for-malpractice/

I was among this 95,000
I took another JAMB the next year, filling another course and University and got itted.

Today I can only look back and agree that in life you can through disappointment for a better opportunity.

sleekymag:


I that 1997 JAMB... i was a victim as well. After preparing very hard for JAMB that year, it was my second attempt... i was sure i would score not less than 360, cos i studied super hard... only for my result not to be released. I wrote it in Lagos... And I never engaged in malpractice... I was so disheartened... This was me that had A1 in Mathematics in SSCE amongst other great results... i was so sure i was going to crush the JAMB result that year, but JAMB had other plans.

Thank God for predegree program to study Electrical/Electronics Engineering later that year...

Same here. I had A1 in Maths in WAEC, 1996. There was no JAMB that year so I had enough time to prepare for the 1997 JAMB. I didn't cheat. But my result was not released. It really affected a lot of Centers in Surulere then.

This is actually a Gimmick from the Registrar if u ask me. He knows he would be called to book, reason he double checked to know he had no lapses. Thank God for that organisation that called for the questions and answers of the just concluded jamb examination.