JAMB Announces UTME Retake in These Six States

Nearly 380,000 candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will have to take the test again, following a major decision by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). 

The board announced that technical glitches affected the exam process in six states, prompting a rescheduling of the test for all students involved.

According to JAMB, the decision affects candidates in Lagos, Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, and Anambra states that hosted a total of 157 malfunctioning exam centres. These centres were flagged after many students raised concerns online and on other platforms about scoring unusually low marks that didn’t match their expectations.

The board confirmed that about 206,610 of the affected candidates sat for the exam in 65 centres across Lagos, while 173,387 wrote theirs in 92 centres located in the South-East region.

After conducting a thorough review, JAMB found significant technical errors that may have compromised the validity of the results in those centres.

“We had to take this step to maintain the integrity of the UTME,” said Professor Is-haq Oloyede, JAMB Registrar, who admitted that the board had identified serious lapses during the examination process.

 “We cannot ignore the technical failures that occurred, and fairness demands that these candidates get another chance.”

Candidates are being notified of the retake via SMS, email, and updates to their JAMB profiles. They have also been advised to reprint their exam slips to confirm their new dates and venues. The retake is scheduled to begin on Friday, May 16.

A major concern for many students and parents was the possible clash with the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), but JAMB has already reached an agreement with WAEC. 

The two exam bodies are now working together to ensure students taking both UTME and WASSCE won’t face any timetable conflicts.

This year’s UTME saw over 1.9 million candidates across the country, with over 78% scoring below 200 out of 400, a trend JAMB says has remained consistent in recent years. However, for the board, maintaining the credibility of the exam is more important than any performance statistic.

Meanwhile, JAMB has reiterated its strict stance on biometric verification. Candidates whose biometrics cannot be verified on the exam day will not be allowed to sit for the UTME or even its mock versions. 

Parents and proxies have also been warned not to interfere with candidate profiles or registration processes to avoid errors or mismatches.