ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a fresh mop-up examination to accommodate the over 5.6 percent of candidates who were unable to sit for the recently concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made the announcement on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.
He explained that the initiative would apply to all affected candidates, regardless of why they missed the exam.
“This time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence will get another opportunity,” he said.
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“It’s not extraordinary. In any serious system, when students miss an exam, they’re allowed to make up provided there’s no abuse.”
Professor Oloyede reiterated that the UTME is designed as a placement test, not a measure of intelligence or academic potential.
“Its purpose is to rank candidates for limited admission slots, not to test how smart someone is,” he clarified.
Addressing criticism and allegations surrounding the examination process, the JAMB boss dismissed claims of ethnic bias or mismanagement.
“I take responsibility, not because I failed, but because that’s leadership,” he stated. “I didn’t even realise people viewed issues around me through ethnic lenses. We must rise above such profiling.”
He also commended both candidates and JAMB personnel for their perseverance in the face of logistical challenges.
“We had limited space. We knew if we wasted more time grieving the challenges, students would lose their opportunity,” he noted.
The special mop-up exam will be scheduled in due course, with JAMB reaffirming its commitment to fairness and transparency in the admissions process.