Ex-Provost, Education Experts Slam JAMB Over UTME Glitches, Demand Accountability
Former Provost of the College of Education, Ilesa—now University of Education, Ilesa—Professor Kolawole Kola-Kazeem, has described the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) error by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as a failure rooted in human error, insisting that those responsible must be held accountable to prevent future occurrences.
Speaking on The Morning Brief, a Channels Television programme on Thursday, Professor Kola-Kazeem stressed the emotional and academic toll on students affected by the technical issues during the exams. He cited the televised breakdown of a 70-year-old man as a powerful symbol of the severity of the situation.
“If you see a 70-year-old man cry on live television, that should speak volumes,” he said. “This is clearly human error, and whoever is responsible should face consequences. One of our biggest issues in this country is the lack of consequences when infractions occur.”
He emphasized that many students were unjustly affected and urged support for the JAMB Registrar to correct the situation and implement safeguards against recurrence.
Education and human resource consultant, Yomi Fawehinmi, also weighed in, criticizing JAMB’s decision to continue administering the exams despite detecting ongoing technical glitches. He argued that the failure to halt the exams immediately suggested inadequate internal scrutiny and poor crisis response.
“These errors weren’t discovered because of rigorous self-checking. The JAMB Registrar himself admitted they noticed something was wrong while the exams were in progress,” Fawehinmi noted. “The decision to carry on was a mistake.”
He further called for a reduction in the number of entrance exams students must write, suggesting that JAMB should refocus its scope. “Let JAMB concentrate solely on university admissions, as outlined in the 1978 decree. Students shouldn’t be subjected to writing up to three different exams just to gain admission,” he added.
Their comments followed JAMB’s admission on Wednesday that technical problems affected a large number of candidates in the 2025 UTME. Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede acknowledged the setback during a press briefing in Abuja, describing it as a human error that compromised the integrity of results in 157 out of 887 exam centres nationwide.
JAMB announced that 379,997 affected candidates would retake the exam starting from May 16, 2025. The board also revealed that more than 78% of the 1.95 million candidates scored below 200, with only 12,414 scoring 300 and above. The largest score bracket fell between 160 and 199, comprising over 983,000 candidates.
The board disclosed additional statistics: 40,247 underage candidates sat the exam under “exceptional abilities,” though only 467 met the benchmark. There were also 97 confirmed malpractice cases, 2,157 pending investigations, and over 71,000 absentees.
In light of the backlash, JAMB accelerated its review process and brought in academic and technology experts to strengthen its examination systems. Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, attributed the mass failure to JAMB’s enhanced anti-cheating technologies and proposed that similar technologies be adopted by WAEC and NECO.
