The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has sparked widespread concern following a technical failure that affected nearly 380,000 candidates across the South-East and Lagos. In response, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has demanded sweeping reforms and an independent audit of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
System Failure and Its Impact
The crisis stemmed from a critical system patch that was not
deployed to server clusters servicing 157 examination centers in the affected
regions. This resulted in mass discrepancies in scores, leading to public
outrage and even tragic consequences, including the suicide of a candidate who
was devastated by the flawed results.
JAMB has since apologized and offered retake opportunities
for affected students, but Kalu insists that apologies alone are not enough. He
has urged JAMB to commission an independent audit involving external
professionals, system engineers, and academic measurement experts to scrutinize
the CBT engine, question delivery, answer validation, and result collation
processes.
Calls for Transparency and Accountability
Kalu has emphasized the need for full transparency, urging
JAMB to publish anonymized candidate-level result data for independent
verification. He also called for stronger deployment validation protocols and
real-time monitoring mechanisms to prevent future failures.
Furthermore, he has demanded that JAMB provide a clear and
accessible mechanism for remark and appeal, ensuring that no candidate is
unfairly disadvantaged. He stressed that Nigeria’s educational system must
restore public confidence, as the UTME serves as a critical gateway to
opportunity for young Nigerians.
The Path Forward
As the rescheduled UTME takes place, stakeholders are
watching closely to see if JAMB will implement the recommended reforms. The
Deputy Speaker’s intervention signals a turning point in the push for greater
accountability in Nigeria’s education sector.
With millions of students relying on JAMB for their academic
future, the urgency of these reforms cannot be overstated. The nation now
awaits decisive action to ensure that such a crisis never happens again.
