The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies has revealed its finding on the disturbing 2025 UTME error.
The panel clarified that the issue with the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results was caused by human error, not a technical failure.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the committee’s chairman, Oboku Oforji, revealed that preliminary findings indicated the discrepancies, which affected over 300,000 candidates, were due to human error.
Naija News reports that the issue came to light when the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, addressed the press on May 14, 2025, and admitted that the board had made errors in the released results of some candidates.
In an emotional address, Professor Oloyede explained that despite their best efforts to ensure a smooth examination process, the errors were a testament to the board’s humanity.
Further explaining the situation, Oloyede attributed the mass failure in the 2025 UTME to a systemic failure rather than individual mistakes. He noted that this failure had impacted candidates in five states, the Southeast and Lagos.
JAMB also announced that the 379,997 affected candidates will be rescheduled to retake the examination.
Speaking on the development, Oforji, who was flanked by his colleagues, said the fault was caused by human error and not technical issue as claimed by JAMB.
He sympathised with the candidates who were affected by the error.
Oforji said, “We sincerely apologise on behalf of the examination body (JAMB) to all Nigerians.
“The committee recognises the courage and sincerity of the JAMB registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, for accepting the fault on behalf of his team and apologising to the parents, candidates, and the nation in general.
“However, these human errors were avoidable because it was due to negligence by JAMB.
“The committee also appreciates the eagerness and determination of Nigerian students in pursuing their education to improve the future of our country.”
The committee chairman said that despite the “unfortunate” error, JAMB’s consistent process throughout the examination process, from registration to the release of results, is commendable.
Oforji demanded an “independent and thorough investigation” into the matter, adding that the committee has proposed reforms to the board.
