Isaac Samuel
The House of Representatives has launched an investigation into the technical error that disrupted the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) leading to mass failure among candidates nationwide.
Adopting a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Morufu Adewale Adebayo (Osun), the House directed its relevant committees to probe the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over the server malfunction that marred the exercise.
Adebayo, who represents Irepodun/Olorunda/Osogbo/Orolu Federal Constituency, lamented that many candidates were forced to travel long distances to write the examination, with some losing their lives in road accidents. He linked the strain and disorganisation to the widespread poor performance recorded in the 2025 UTME.
He further warned that the growing public outrage, if not addressed, could undermine confidence in Nigeria’s educational assessment systems.
The House also urged the Federal Government to instruct JAMB to release the results of candidates under the age of 16 who sat for the examination, and to include in the 2026 budget the establishment of Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres in all 774 local government areas.
This follows JAMB’s admission on Wednesday that a technical glitch affected the results of 379,997 candidates.
Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, said the problem stemmed from faulty server updates by one of the agency’s technical service providers, which compromised the uploading of candidates’ responses in Lagos and the South-East during the first three days of the exam.
He apologised to the public and assured that affected candidates would be given the opportunity to retake the exam between May 16 and 19.
The mass failure where over 78 per cent of candidates scored below 200 out of 40 triggered nationwide condemnation, with some Nigerians calling for Oloyede’s resignation.
However, during plenary, Hon. Sada Soli (Jibia/Kaita, Katsina) praised the registrar for his openness and reforms, noting that JAMB’s revenue profile had significantly improved under Oloyede’s leadership.
In response, Speaker of the House, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, said it would be premature to commend the JAMB boss until the investigative committee completes its work.
The motion was unanimously endorsed by the House.
The House also urged the federal government to establish CBT centrs in 774 LGAs to prevent future logistical and technical challenges.
