By Ghazali Ibrahim
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that it will conduct a special mop-up examination for candidates who missed the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
According to JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, an estimated 5.6% of candidates missed their exams, and the board will extend the opportunity to all affected candidates, regardless of the reason for their absence.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Oloyede stated that JAMB remains committed to resolving issues affecting the examination process and rejected any suggestion that administrative failures were due to incompetence or ethnic bias.
He urged stakeholders to stop ethnic profiling of education and criticized those who exploit difficulties to promote ethnic or conspiracy-driven narratives.
The JAMB 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.
The mop-up examination will provide an opportunity for candidates who missed the main exam to take the test, ensuring that they are not deprived of their chance to gain admission into tertiary institutions.
Oloyede clarified that the UTME is a placement test, not an achievement test, and its purpose is to rank candidates for available spaces in institutions, not to measure intelligence or overall academic potential.
