How Server Glitch Failed 380,000 UTME Candidates, The Inside Story

• A new report has shown how a software malfunction threw about 380,000 UTME candidates below the 200 cut-off mark
• Reports say the glitch from 157 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres churned out UTME scores, and sent most candidates below 
• Findings showed that students faced power failures, system crashes, and login errors in 2015, 2023, and 2025.

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

A skipped software patch malfunction began what has been described as JAMB’s worst outing in decades.

Within a few days, results from 157 Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, churned out UTME scores, were released, distorting the results of 380,000 candidates, and sending most of the 1.95 million Nigerians below the 200-point threshold.

Errors in previous JAMB outings

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) woke up to the realisation late, acknowledging error and ordering a retake.

The exam body introduced CBT in 2013, ending paper-based tests by 2015. The digital revolution in JAMB was a sign of progress and was hailed as a game-changer.

However, experts say that after a decade of investment, the platform still suffers from technical errors.

Findings showed that students faced power failures, system crashes, and login errors in 2015, 2023, and 2025.

JAMB orders a retake

The 2025 UTME exams were rated a disaster, with parents and guardians calling for the sack of JAMB Registrar, Ishaq Oloyede, who tearfully apologised for the errors.

After the results were released, over 75% of the 1.9 million candidates scored below 200 out of the 40O benchmark for university admissions.

TechCabal reports that the founder of Educare, Alex Onyia, wrote to JAMB on behalf of the candidates on May 9, 2025, when the results were released.

According to Onyia, principals from schools using the Educare platform saw discrepancies.

JAMB’s technical team discovers the loophole

According to the report, JAMB assembled a high-level technical review on May 14, led by Oloyede and attended by tech experts.

The review showed three major upgrades had been implemented in 2025: a departure from count-based to source-based scoring, randomisation of questions and answers to forestall cheating, and new performance patches to reduce lag. JAMB did not reportedly deploy these updates uniformly across all CBT centres.

JAMB has since acknowledged the glitch and publicly apologised, announcing that all affected candidates would retake the exam at zero cost between May 16 and 19, 2025.

JAMB to offer new tickets to candidates

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) coordinated the new schedule to avoid an overlap with the ongoing Senior Secondary School Examination Council (WAEC).

JAMB has said that students who faced difficulty in obtaining tickets will have new ones to ensure that all affected students get their tickets.

“This mistake is directly from JAMB, so we are closely monitoring to ensure no student is left out,” Benjamin said. However, he ruled out any possibility of remarking the answer scripts of the affected despite admitting JAMB could still retrieve them.

JAMB speaks on how candidates can view scores

Legit.ng earlier reported that The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) said the results of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) are initially 'checked through the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) codes 55019 or 66019'.

Legit.ng recently reported that UTME 2025 candidates were awaiting the release of their results.

In a post on X, JAMB said UTME 2025 results would be released on its website later, after candidates were able to access their results via the USSD codes.

Source: Legit.ng