A wave of concern has swept through families of candidates affected by the glitch that marred this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), as they urge education authorities to defer the rescheduled exams initially set for May 16 to a later date in June.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) had earlier this week announced—through a notice on its official X account—that the affected candidates should begin reprinting their examination slips in preparation for the retake beginning today.
One of the candidates posted a screenshot of the SMS notification received from JAMB, detailing the resit date and time:
“You are scheduled to retake the 2025 UTME Resit examination on Friday, May 16, 2025, by 12 noon. Kindly reprint your examination slip to confirm your center.”
However, parents and guardians have faulted the short notice and timing, citing the emotional toll on the students, the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and the vast distances many candidates would need to travel to their reassigned centers. They argue that such logistical hurdles could further undermine the integrity of the process and deepen the distress already inflicted on their children.
The controversy trails JAMB’s admission on Wednesday that a technical malfunction—attributed to human error—compromised the results of nearly 380,000 candidates, sparking widespread discontent and calls for a transparent remedy.
Many of the aggrieved parents have since advocated for the resit to be moved to June, insisting this would give students ample time to recover from the setback and prepare adequately.
Speaking during a press conference, the JAMB Registrar, Is-haq Oloyede, a professor, expressed deep regret over what he described as a disappointing setback in the exercise that had, until the glitch, been considered one of the most successful in recent years.
“So, I appeal to the candidates and those affected by the error of our system to accept this explanation as the truth of the matter without embellishment, please. I apologise and take full responsibility, not just in words,” he said.
Oloyede said the issue affected 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
He said the glitch affected 206,610 candidates across 65 centres in Lagos State and 173,387 candidates in 92 centres across South East states.
While 54.37 per cent of candidates affected are in Lagos, the remaining 45.63 per cent are spread across Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, and Enugu States.
Oloyede explained that the glitch was caused by a failed patch meant to update examination servers in the region.
He assured that the affected candidates could retake the examination between May 16 and May 18, 2025.
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Parents have decried the decision by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to proceed with the rescheduled Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) this weekend, describing the move as inconsiderate and insensitive to the plight of the affected candidates.
One of the aggrieved parents, Mr. Bukola Omoniyi, expressed frustration over the short notice, lamenting that his son, who had since returned to his school in Oyo State, was abruptly informed on Thursday that he must sit for the resit on Saturday.
“This is simply unfair,” Omoniyi fumed. “These children are already writing their WAEC exams, and then, out of nowhere, we receive a text message telling us he must sit for UTME on Saturday. Meanwhile, his assigned center is in Lagos. How do you expect him to rush from Ibadan to Lagos, take the exam, and dash back to school? No one is thinking about the psychological trauma this is causing these children. This wasn’t their fault, yet they’re being made to bear the consequences of an error they know nothing about.”
Similarly, Mrs. Aisha Okikiola shared her concerns over the growing mental strain on her child, who she said was already struggling to prepare for the ongoing WAEC papers when the unexpected UTME resit notice landed.
“It’s so confusing for them,” she noted. “My daughter was focused on her WAEC subjects, now she’s being forced to switch back to UTME preparations at the same time. It’s overwhelming. The authorities should reconsider this approach.”
Parents are now intensifying calls for the resit to be deferred until June, insisting the current plan disregards the well-being of the candidates and risks compounding their academic anxiety.