A renowned human rights activist and author, Comrade Paul Ikechukwu Njoku, has accused the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, of masterminding a deliberate mass-failure in the 2025 University Tatiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, specifically against the Southeast states.
Njoku described the JAMB-Registrar, Professor Ishaq-Oloyede, as an incompetent and mischievous manager of the examination body, adding that a public interest court action would soon be initiated by the Coalition of Civil Society Groups in the zone to interrogate the organised digital damage and for full compensation paid to the affected candidates whose mental health condition is leading to severe depression and suicides. He noted that the Registrar should resign, stressing that . the development is the worst and unacceptably organized clamped-down in the history of the marginalization against the people of Southeast.
“It is very barbaric and unconscionable that the continued hate, Igbophobia and senseless exclusivity against the Igbo have been digitalized in our time. No geopolitical zone in Nigeria could have tolerated this unfortunate treatment of our children whose chances of gaining University admissions this year is highly limited.
“I am disappointed in the Southeast governors for not speaking up and fight against this injustice having clearly seen how the JAMB- Registrar masterminded a deliberate mass-failure in the 2025 University Tertiary Matriculation Examination specifically against the Southeast states.
“Professor Ishaq – Oluyede is an incompetent and mischievous manager of the examination body. A public interest court action would soon be initiated by the Coalition of Civil Society Groups in the zone to interrogate the organised digital damage and for compensation paid to the affected candidates whose mental health condition is leading to severe depression and suicides.
“The Registrar should immediately resign than crying like a child with the mindset of always playing the card of emotional manipulation. This development is the worst and unacceptably organized clamped-down in the history of the marginalization against the people of Southeast”, Comrade Paul decried.
Recall that the JAMB on Wednesday finally admitted to errors which affected the performance of students during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
The Registrar of the Board, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, admitted to this during an ongoing press briefing in Abuja.
“What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors,” Oloyede said.
The UTME is a critical prerequisite for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria. It tests candidates in four subjects, including the compulsory Use of English, with the other three drawn from their proposed field of study.
Of the 1.9 million candidates who sat the UTME, over 1.5 million reportedly scored below 200 out of the maximum 400 marks, raising concerns across the education sector.
According to the examination body, a total of 1,955,069 results were processed, out of which only 4,756 candidates (0.24 per cent) scored 320 and above, considered top-tier performance, while 7,658 candidates (0.39 per cent) scored between 300 and 319, bringing the total for those who scored 300 and above to 12,414 candidates (0.63 per cent).
Also, 73,441 candidates (3.76 per cent) scored between 250 and 299 while 334,560 candidates (17.11 per cent) scored between 200 and 249.
A total of 983,187 candidates (50.29 per cent) scored between 160 and 199, which is widely regarded as the minimum threshold for admissions in many institutions.
In the same vein, 488,197 candidates (24.97 per cent) scored between 140 and 159, 57,419 candidates (2.94 per cent) scored between 120 and 139, 3,820 candidates (0.20 per cent) scored between 100 and 119, and 2,031 candidates (0.10 per cent) scored below 100.
Over 75 per cent of all candidates (1.5 million) scored below 200, average score seeing as the examination is graded over 400.
