From: Oyewole O. Sarumi
Introduction
The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), administered by Nigeria’s Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), was intended to showcase the nation’s commitment to a digital-first, fraud-proof tertiary admissions process. Instead, it unveiled a catastrophe. With nearly 400,000 students impacted by severe technical glitches and 78% scoring below the midpoint of 400, the credibility of the exam and the competence of its administrators have been brought into serious question.
JAMB candidates
I was moved seeing Professor Oloyede on national TV sobbing for this misdemeanour, and as public servant with character and impeccable record of service, that was a genuine emotional outburst from a painful but sincere heart.
The heart of his leadership was exemplified by claiming responsibility…. he did not play the blame game that is the norm in our polity. Kudos to your strength, Prof, as I also concurred with Prof. Wole Soyinka’s assessment of Prof. Oloyede’s genuineness of heart in this regard.
Now, be that as it may, let me move on to say that beyond a routine assessment crisis, this incident exposed infrastructural failures, vendor negligence, systemic educational weaknesses, and an inadequate crisis-response model.
This analysis combines firsthand JAMB statements, audit trail insights, public sentiment, and expert EdTech perspectives to present an all-encompassing evaluation—and a roadmap for meaningful reform.
1. The Depth of the Crisis: A Nation’s Future in Limbo
1.1 Magnitude and Location of Failure
In JAMB’s official post-mortem, the registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede admitted to delivery failures at 157 CBT centres, with the highest concentration in Lagos and the South-East.
Here’s the data breakdown:
• 65 centres in Lagos affected, totalling 206,610 candidates
• 92 centres in South-East states, impacting 173,387 candidates
This accounts for over 20% of total test-takers, making it the largest exam disruption in Nigeria’s recent educational history.
1.2 Performance Freefall: More Than a Technical Error
Statistics from the released scores paint a dire picture:
• 78% of candidates scored below 200
• Only 4.2% scored above 250, compared to over 10% in 2023
• Less than 1% exceeded 300 marks
When cross-referenced with 2023 and 2024 performance, the decline is not only unprecedented but statistically significant, especially in zones affected by glitches. Even in unaffected areas, performance trends showed signs of stress, indicating deeper flaws in preparatory education, digital readiness, and curriculum coherence.
2. Technical Failure: The Software Patch That Broke the System
2.1 JAMB’s Shuffled Answers Initiative
In 2025, JAMB introduced a shuffled-answer protocol designed to reduce collusion in exam halls. Unfortunately, a software patch meant to implement this failed in select regions.
The result?
• Servers running on outdated configurations couldn’t interpret shuffled inputs
• Candidate responses failed to upload
• Some results were miscalculated or lost
JAMB outsourced delivery to two technical providers. One failed to apply critical updates across LAG servers (including SW, SE and parts of North Central). This indicates a breach in oversight and change management protocol.
2.2 Why the QA Process Failed
Despite JAMB’s pre-exam simulations, actual testing environments were far more complex. Critical issues include:
• Inadequate load-testing of infrastructure under real-time national demand
• No fallback mechanisms, such as local data caching
• No live audit dashboard for anomaly detection during test sessions
2.3 Accountability: Vendor Contracts and Oversight
JAMB has refused to name the failing vendor, prompting transparency concerns. Key questions:
• Were there penalties for failed updates?
• Did contract terms include real-time support obligations?
• Was there a clause for insurance-backed restitution for affected candidates?
These questions and more are begging for answers!
3. National Reaction: Rage, Distrust, and Collective Disappointment
3.1 A Public Outcry Without Precedent
#JAMB2025 trended for days, with many students publicly sharing their zero or incomplete scores. Allegations included:
• Login failure
• Auto-submission within minutes
• Inconsistent timers across computers
Parents’ associations demanded:
• Cancellation of affected results
• Full refund and psychological support
• Legislative inquiry
3.2 Psychosocial Impact on Students and Families
The domino effect includes:
• Loss of admission timelines
• Repeat test-related trauma
• Additional economic burdens (re-transport, re-registration, tutorials)
Health-focused NGOs noted a spike in exam-stress consultations in teaching hospitals around Lagos and Enugu. Nigeria’s mental health infrastructure already underfunded was ill-equipped to handle the sudden spike.
4. JAMB’s Emergency Response: A Case of Crisis Management on the Fly
4.1 Emergency Retake Plan
To rectify the failure:
• Resits began May 16, with affected candidates alerted via SMS and email
• JAMB coordinated with WAEC to avoid calendar clashes
• New centres and invigilators were introduced for rescheduled candidates
4.2 Audit and Expert Review
JAMB’s self-assessment included:
• Engagement of third-party psychometricians
• Cybersecurity sweeps of all data pipelines
• Deployment of shadow teams to monitor the retakes
While this shows initiative, critics highlight that audit transparency is lacking, no public-facing report has yet been published.
5. Education Sector Implications: Structural Issues Laid Bare
5.1 Digital Divide and Infrastructure Inertia
The failure reveals a huge gap between ambition and infrastructure. Key deficiencies:
• Centres operating on outdated Windows XP systems
• Poor internet backup (no LTE failover, no caching)
• Generator dependency due to poor power supply
Only 28% of secondary schools in Nigeria have access to functional computer labs (UNESCO, 2023).
5.2 Learning and Assessment Disconnect
JAMB’s CBT model assumes digital fluency. Yet:
• Teachers lack CBT-based assessment training
• Students lack hands-on interaction with tech pre-exam
• School syllabi remain analog in delivery and mindset
This contradiction leads to mass underperformance—even where systems don’t crash.
5.3 Equity Crisis: The Privilege of Preparation
Urban candidates in Abuja and Lagos had access to:
• Simulation centres
• CBT training apps
• Tutorials with past CBT models
Rural candidates often sat the exam on computers they’d never used before.
6. Reform Blueprint: Short-Term and Long-Term Fixes
6.1 JAMB-Centric Remedies
• Mock CBTs on live servers 3 weeks before UTME
• API-based audit trails for all candidate interactions
• Insurance policy inclusion for major vendor failure
• Live status dashboard for parents and observers during exam windows
6.2 National Education Revamp
• Federal and state governments must:
o Build CBT labs in all public secondary schools by 2030
o Introduce nationwide digital literacy curriculum in JSS1
o Incentivize PPP (Public Private Partnership) investment in EdTech logistics
6.3 Legislative and Policy Level
• National Assembly should:
o Commission an independent panel on JAMB 2025
o Pass the National Digital Assessment Integrity Bill
o Create a Tertiary Access Recovery Fund for affected students
Conclusion: Let This Be the Last Wake-Up Call
The JAMB 2025 fiasco is not just a technical story—it is a human story.
It is the story of a brilliant student in Abakaliki who couldn’t submit her paper. Of a parent in Yaba who sold belongings to pay for tutorials. Of a registrar (whom I loved) who cried in public but needs to be held to account with policy.
This is not the first UTME controversy, but it must be the last of this scale.
Nigeria must re-engineer not only its testing infrastructure but the values that underpin it: equity, preparedness, accountability, and innovation. We owe our youth nothing less.
{Prof. Sarumi is the Chief Strategipc Officer, LMS DT Consulting, and Executive Director of ICLED Business School, and writes from Lagos, Nigeria Tel. 234 803 304 1421, Email: leadershipmgtservice@gmail.com.}
