The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has revealed that he briefly considered stepping down after a major technical error disrupted the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
The UTME results, released on May 9, showed that more than 78% of candidates scored below 200 out of a possible 400, sparking widespread concern.
Following public outcry, JAMB initiated an internal investigation and uncovered a serious technical fault that compromised the exam’s integrity.
On May 14, Oloyede confirmed that the performance of 379,997 candidates from 157 centres in Lagos and the south-east had been affected by the glitch.
He attributed the issue to a faulty server update from one of JAMB’s technical service providers, which resulted in candidates’ responses failing to upload during the first three days of testing. The problem was only discovered after the results had been released.
To rectify the situation, JAMB conducted a resit examination starting May 16, which extended beyond May 19.
Speaking in Abuja during a meeting with chief external examiners, civil society organisations, and education stakeholders, Oloyede responded to the controversy and the demands for his resignation, some of which cited ethnic bias and sabotage.
“When it happened, my first reaction is to resign. But people advised me that the students will never forgive me because it will look like you abandoned them at such a time,” Oloyede said.
What you should know
Prof. Ishaq Oloyede nearly resigned after a technical glitch compromised UTME results for nearly 380,000 candidates. The issue, traced to a server update failure, led to a resit.
Despite pressure and criticism, he remained in office, citing a duty to affected students.
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