The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it would conduct mop-up examinations for candidates who were absent during the initial Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the recently rescheduled one.
JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede gave the hint on Wednesday during a meeting with key stakeholders to address challenges encountered during the 2025 UTME exercise held in Abuja.
Oloyede acknowledged the emotional strain experienced while announcing the UTME results but clarified that it was not indicative of institutional weakness.
He emphasised that the Board remains committed to resolving issues affecting the examination process and rejected any suggestion that administrative failures were due to incompetence or ethnic bias.
He further urged stakeholders to stop ethnic profiling of education and criticised those who exploit difficulties to promote ethnic or conspiracy-driven narratives. He asserted that many criticisms of JAMB’s operations were rooted in ignorance.
The Registrar commended his team’s efforts and stressed that JAMB does not discriminate based on background or ethnicity.
He also expressed appreciation for the resilience shown by candidates, many of whom continued their exams despite various challenges. To accommodate the estimated 5.6% of candidates who missed their exams, JAMB is organising a special mop-up exercise, extending the opportunity to all affected candidates, regardless of the reason for their absence.
Responding to questions as to why the earlier rescheduled exams was fixed at such a short notice, Prof. Oloyede said, “we were doing that because at that time, the only space we had was the space that had a big science practical on Friday. And we felt that we could move in and get it. We couldn’t get that type of space for another two months, and we would have permanently deprived the students of their chance in life.
“So we knew that if we continued to mourn and groan about what had happened and allowed that space to escape, we might not recover it. I told the students, just like Griffith said, because you had over about 95% attendance across all sessions that’s a very reasonable attendance,” he stated.
He continued, “We are also taking the decision that all those who missed that examination whatever the reason, the 5.6% or 6% that missed it we would not only mop up. Normally, we hold one mop-up nationwide for those with one issue or another. This time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence we will extend this opportunity to them.
“It’s not that we are doing something extraordinary. In class, you make up an examination when students miss it for one reason or the other. We just don’t allow abuse of that. So we will allow all the candidates who missed the main exam for any reason to take part in this mop-up.”
The Registrar criticised public commentators who misunderstand or misrepresent the role of the UTME. He clarified that the UTME was a placement test, not an achievement test. Its purpose was to rank candidates for available spaces in institutions, not to measure intelligence or overall academic potential.
He added that high UTME scores were not the sole determinant of admission, noting that combined performance including post-UTME scores and school assessments can significantly affect a candidate’s ranking.
