Nigeria is grappling with a growing education crisis after widespread irregularities and technical failures marred this year’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the national university entrance test conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB). The fallout from the scandal includes the tragic suicide of a 19-year-old candidate, Faith Opesusi Timileyin, who took her own life after receiving disappointing results for the second time, despite high hopes of studying microbiology at university.
Faith’s father, Oluwafemi Opesusi, revealed in an emotional interview with BBC Pidgin that she had previously scored 193 but managed only 146 out of 400 this year, well below the 200 typically required for university admission. Her family believes the psychological pain and loss of hope from the poor result drove her to consume poison.
The crisis deepened after it emerged that nearly 80% of the 1.9 million students who sat the 2025 UTME scored below the minimum threshold for university admission. Only 400,000 candidates were able to reach or exceed the 200-mark cutoff, one of the lowest pass rates in recent years. The dismal performance has triggered a wave of national outrage, especially as students continue to report severe disruptions during the exam process.
Technical glitches were reported across multiple centers nationwide, especially in Lagos and the South-East. Students faced issues ranging from being unable to log into the exam portal, experiencing power outages, missing exam questions, and system errors that caused delays or displayed the wrong profiles. One candidate, Favour Eke, said that 10 of the 165 questions in her exam didn’t appear on screen; only the answer options did. Candidates were told to skip such questions and continue, which many said made it extremely hard to concentrate. For Eke, this was her third attempt to gain university admission, and with Abuja not listed among the locations for the rescheduled exam, she faces yet another year without admission.
Another student recounted how someone else’s exam profile appeared on his computer, along with an entirely different set of questions, before the system shut down. The disruptions cost him valuable time, and he was forced to submit an incomplete test when time ran out.
Amid mounting public anger, JAMB admitted to a “technical glitch” that affected exam responses in 157 of the 887 test centers. During a press conference, JAMB Registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede broke down in tears as he issued a public apology for the trauma students have suffered. He announced that around 380,000 affected candidates will be allowed to retake their exams starting from Saturday.
JAMB said the technical audit, which normally happens in June, was fast-tracked due to the “unusual level of public concern and loud complaints” from students and parents. The agency cited issues with power outages, server failures, and suspected sabotage by some CBT (computer-based testing) centers as contributing factors.
This scandal has ignited fierce debates across Nigeria. Prominent political and civil society figures have called for accountability. Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi described the incident as “grave havoc” inflicted by glitches in a critical national institution and urged for systemic reforms. Rights activist Rinu Oduala called the scandal “educational sabotage” and demanded the arrest of top JAMB officials for incompetence.
Despite JAMB’s earlier defense that the low scores reflected the “true academic ability” of students due to stricter anti-cheating measures, the public is not convinced. Many Nigerians believe that the crisis exposes the failure of digital infrastructure, poor exam planning, and a lack of accountability in Nigeria’s education system.
As the country mourns a lost future and demands reform, the 2025 UTME fiasco is quickly becoming a defining scandal in Nigeria’s education history, raising tough questions about digital readiness, fairness, and the value placed on young people’s dreams.
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