In mid-March 2025, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) conducted the university entry examinations in Nigeria. To many, this decision served as a vital centerpiece for millions of young Americans seeking a path to higher education. Unsurprisingly, the results released earlier this week have ignited fierce criticism. This meant that only 400,000 of 1.9 million applicants were able to manage a score of 200 or higher on the 400-point scale. The resulting low pass rate has caused a nationwide uproar. Unfortunately, this reaction escalated after the tragic suicide of one of that year’s candidates.
Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar of JAMB, blamed the poor exam results at a press conference. He argued that these findings are a reflection of the “real academic talents” of our students. He said the drop in scores was due to a recent crackdown on cheating that he says has hurt students’ performance. Both Oloyede were very emotional during the ceremony. Indeed, even Olukoya broke down in tears as he apologized for the “painful damage” and “trauma” this caused affected Nigerians.
Security concerns led to an unprecedented testing experience, including major power outages all around the country affecting test-takers everywhere during the exam window. JAMB announced an alleged attempt at failure in their computer system in the early testing days. Ultimately, this issue kept exam eruptions from being uploaded in several regions. All of these technical issues were compounded by a “technical glitch” that skewed a large number of candidates’ results.
When close to 80% of students failed, a public outcry and calls for accountability followed. Prominent activist Rinu Oduala expressed her frustration, stating, “incompetence. It’s educational sabotage. He should be arrested immediately.” Such sentiments echo the feelings of many who have taken to social media and public forums to voice their dissatisfaction with JAMB’s handling of the situation.
To address this mounting backlash, JAMB took a dramatic step. Beginning this Saturday, almost 380,000 qualified candidates from 157 impacted centers will recover the opportunity to retake their exams. This latest decision follows tremendous advocacy by grassroots advocacy organizations and families who have suffered from the effects of these abysmal exam results. Favour Eke, one of the candidates, recounted her experience: “We were told to omit the blank questions and continue the exam but it was very hard to concentrate after that.”
These findings have major consequences. On gaining admission into any Nigerian university, you are required to attain a score of 200 and above. Under the status quo, hundreds of thousands of additional students are unable to count on a future educational experience.
Elected leaders have joined the fray as well. Peter Obi described the situation as “a very concerning issue on glitches and the grave havoc” it has wreaked on students’ lives. The psychological impact of this year’s long awaited exams would be an understatement. OGPs Oluwafemi Opesusi shared his grief at the recent, tragic suicide of one of their candidates. As he put it, “The pain made her kill herself.”
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