Fifteen students who were rescheduled to write their JAMB exam have reportedly gone missing after leaving Onitsha for their exam center in Okigwe, Imo State.

The alarming incident was shared on X (formerly Twitter), sparking widespread concern online.

According to a chat shared by social media influencer @UchePOkoye, the students departed around 6:30 a.m. the previous day but have yet to return or be contacted.

Efforts to reach all 15 candidates, including their school director, have been unsuccessful as their phone numbers remain unreachable.

The message read: “Good evening sir, my classmates that their JAMB got rescheduled and they had papers yesterday by 6:30am at Okigwe, Imo State have been missing 😭😭, 15 of them, none of their numbers is reachable including our school director 😭, they left from Onitsha.”

In response, @UchePOkoye posted: “15 school kids entered a chartered bus from Onitsha yesterday to Okigwe, Imo State to write their rescheduled JAMB and have been missing since yesterday. The school children, the school owner, his wife, the driver — all unreachable. @JAMBHQ you will never go scot-free!”

The post has since garnered significant attention, with concerned individuals flooding the comment section to express their worry and demand immediate action.

See some reactions below:

@Daniel_Elviss: “Why didn’t they just remark the sheets, or rather give an average score to all the students affected, as they did in 2017? This is the same rubbish NYSC keeps on doing, posting when they know there’s insecurity in that state. This country’s anyhowness is unmatched.”

@jay_den111: “I don’t understand, why did they send people to different states instead of the ones they originally registered in? Gosh.”

@MrJah18327: “JAMB must be stopped in Igbo land or boycotted. Let our South East children formulate our own exam to enter a tertiary institution.”

@_Ijebuguy: “When you have finished with your movie, you will tell your people to release them from where they are keeping them. You guys are really trying to ‘finish ’ the registrar, just bcos of Mmesoma case. God go punish una.”

@Echeeasy: “Sometimes I blame parents why allowing your kids to leave Onitsha and went to write JAMB in Okigwe in spite of the insecurity in our region. Very painful.”

…Candidates express satisfaction

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination for 206,610 candidates in Lagos and 173,387 in the South East commenced on Friday with candidates across the two zones expressing satisfaction with the exercise.

Lagos has resit exams in 65 centres while 93 are in the South East.

In all the centres visited by Saturday Tribune in Lagos, candidates and officials reported early while accreditation for the first session was held between 6.30am and 7.30am.

At the CBT centre in Ayobo, Lagos, 218 candidates showed up with 32 absent for the morning.

Imo State
In Imo State, the examination, which held across the three senatorial zones—Orlu, Okigwe and Owerri—was conducted in four batches.

According to the schedule provided by JAMB officials, the examination began at 6am and concluded by 4pm.

At the Mater Ecclesiae Seminary, Nguru, in Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area, one of the monitored centres, our correspondent observed that the process started promptly.

The first batch began their session at 6am, followed by the second at 9am, while the third and fourth batches followed accordingly.

However, some candidates experienced technical issues during the examination. Complaints ranged from computer malfunctions to system shutdowns and freezing screens.

Some candidates also reported problems with input devices such as malfunctioning mice and keyboards, which caused confusion and delays before being resolved by the examination officials.

At other centres such as Switch, the JAMB Professional Test Centre in Area H, Owerri, and Galaxy ICT and Educational Services in Umueze, Mbaitolu Local Government Area, similar technical difficulties were reported.

A candidate at Galaxy ICT centre lamented that due to system glitches, they were left with only about 20 minutes to complete the Mathematics paper, one of the core UTME subjects.

Despite the challenges, JAMB officials ensured that the examination proceeded as scheduled, and efforts were made to address the technical issues promptly.

Anambra State
Candidates repeating the examination in Anambra State expressed confidence in achieving their desired scores in the ongoing exams.

They cited the recent apology tendered to Nigerians by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, as a reassurance that their concerns are being addressed, and they strongly believe they will attain the scores they aim for.

At the IDK and Grafile examination centres in Awka, our correspondent observed that the exams proceeded peacefully, with candidates conducting themselves orderly. Security personnel were present throughout the exercise to maintain order.

Mrs. Esther Ugochukwu, a trader and parent of one of the candidates, shared her opinion on the matter, placing blame on the federal government for insufficient investment in education.

She argued that Prof. Oloyede should not be solely held responsible for the situation, describing the incident as evidence that the current administration of President Bola Tinubu lacks genuine interest in the country’s education system.

“How can a resource-rich country like Nigeria experience this kind of public embarrassment despite advances in technology?” she questioned.

Mrs. Ugochukwu called on the federal government to recruit more personnel to prevent future occurrences.

Saturday Tribune can also report that similar peaceful and conducive examination environments were witnessed across centres in Enugu State.

The UTME is scheduled to conclude today.

Abia State
Candidates in Abia State expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the rescheduled examination, describing it as smoother and better organised than the previous one.

Chioma Marvelous Nnamdi, one of the candidates who sat for the examination at a centre in Umudike, said the process went smoothly, with no technical issues.

“This time, the questions were simpler and easier to answer. It was better than what we experienced during the initial exam. I hope to do well this time,” she said.

She also appreciated JAMB for correcting the errors that marred the previous examination.

“There were many complaints about inconsistent and confusing answer options last time. I thank God and JAMB for acknowledging the issues and making efforts to fix them.”

Another candidate, Chinonso Ezekiel, also commended the improvements, noting that several candidates in the previous exam encountered incomplete questions, malfunctioning systems, and insufficient time.

“This time, things were more organised. Faulty computers were replaced promptly, and the questions were more straightforward than before,” he said.

Reports from across the state confirmed similar positive experiences, with many candidates describing the rescheduled test as more comfortable and well-managed.

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A staff member at the E-Test Centre located at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that the initial technical failures were not the fault of the centre but of JAMB.

He added that the centre made extra efforts this time to ensure a hitch-free examination.

(Tribune)

No fewer than 5,000 candidates who scored 300 and above in the Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in five academic sessions failed to secure admission into tertiary institutions, findings by Saturday PUNCH have revealed.

According to data obtained from JAMB by our correspondent in Abuja on Friday, a total of 8.5 million candidates sat the UTME during the period under review.

Out of the figure, only about 2.7 million were admitted to higher institutions of learning, leaving about 5.8 million stranded.

The UTME is the only acceptable examination taken by individuals seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Though some tertiary institutions may still schedule post-UTME for candidates seeking admission into their institutions, no individual can be admitted without a result verified by JAMB.

The examination body listed “wrong O’level subject combination, low post-UTME screening score, non-acceptance of admission offer, duplication of application, absence from post-UTME screening, and mismatch of catchment” as some of the reasons candidates, including high scorers, failed to gain admission.

Admission data

According to the data, 1,792,719 candidates sat the UTME across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory in the 2019/2020 academic session.

Available data obtained from the policy meeting document of the following year suggested that only 612,557 candidates were admitted into higher institutions, leaving 1,180,162 without admission.

In the 2020/2021 academic session, a total of 1,949,983 candidates sat the UTME but only 551,553 admission quotas were filled according to the JAMB policy meeting document for 2021. This left 1,398,430 candidates without admission.

In the 2021/2022 academic session, a total of 1,400,000 candidates sat the examination but only 312,666 were admitted, while 1,087,333 did not secure admission.

In the 2022/2023 academic session, a total of 1,800,000 students sat the examination. However, only 557,625 admission quotas were filled according to the report released during the 2023 JAMB policy meeting held in Abuja.

The data revealed that 1,242,375 candidates failed to secure admission.

In the 2023/2024 academic session, the number of candidates who sat the exam stood at 1,635,881, while only those who got admitted stood at 639,263.

Experts seek result validity extension

Meanwhile, education experts have asked JAMB to extend the validity of its results.

The Programme Director, Reform Education Nigeria, Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, said, “I think the best thing will be for JAMB to extend the validity of the UTME. For instance, when you look at WAEC, you know that if you aren’t able to use it for admission the year you graduated, you can still use it later. Let JAMB extend the validity so that people won’t have to pay every year. The economic situation in the country isn’t smiling.”

Another educationist, Omotomiwa Daniels, said many students sat the exam annually.

“The ones not admitted get to write every year till they make it. Why not extend the validity of the UTME result from one year to maybe two or three years?” she added.

FG backs JAMB

Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has assured Nigerians of the integrity of the Computer-Based Testing system used by JAMB, despite technical hitches experienced during the 2025 UTME.

Speaking in an interview in Lagos on Friday, Alausa reaffirmed his confidence in both the CBT system and the leadership of the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.

He described the disruption as a technical glitch that occurred due to shuffled questions not loading correctly in some centres, particularly in Lagos and certain southeastern states.

“What happened was not a reflection of the credibility of the CBT system or JAMB’s integrity. It was a human error by the service provider, which has now been addressed. The response was swift and transparent. JAMB assembled technical experts, conducted a forensic audit, identified the problem, and is now implementing a solution,” the minister stated.

He added that JAMB had taken pre-emptive steps before the examinations by conducting technical checks and working closely with its providers to safeguard the integrity of the process.

According to Alausa, the experience, though unfortunate, had served as an opportunity to improve examination processes.

Earlier in the week, Oloyede had openly apologised for the inconvenience caused to affected candidates and parents, adding that the examination body had traced the problem to a technical fault originating from one of its service providers.

He further disclosed that affected candidates would be rescheduled for another test.

Low turnouts

At some of the CBT centres where the rescheduled exams were held in Lagos on Friday, there was an average turnout of the students.

During the first session, Datforte International School in the Ahmadiyya area of Lagos had 212 candidates and 222 at the second session, out of the 250 expected for the resit per session.

New Ocean Comprehensive High School, also located in Ayobo, had a similar level of turnover, as just 230 students came for the first session at the centre.

It was the same at Vanilla CBT Centre in the Ayobo area of the state, as 223 candidates came for the exam during the first session, while the second session had 227.

The second CBT centre situated at Enefem International School in Ayobo also witnessed the same turnout as 216 students came for the first session and 225 for the second session.

Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, the school proprietor, Ayodele Ezekiel, attributed the turnout to the short notification given for the rescheduled exam.

“The low turnout was because some of the students were not informed early enough. Some of them didn’t even know they had an exam this (Friday) morning. On a normal day, we usually record around 246 candidates for the UTME when they are properly informed. But this time was different, and that’s why we had slightly fewer candidates than usual,” he explained.

The Director of another CBT centre in the Iyana Ipaja area of the state, who asked to remain anonymous, blamed the short notice for the low turnout.

He said, “Some of the students got the notification very late. Some received it this (Friday) morning. So, we had to use our discretion. When someone is coming for an exam, he or she is expected to come with a means of identification.

“But some students came in hurriedly, very early today, with no slips; they just showed us the notification on their phones. So, we had to allow them in. If we had followed the normal JAMB rules, we would have sent them away to find a place to print their slips. But we quickly used our discretion because we are parents too.

“I think the short notice partly caused the low turnout. For instance, a lady came in this morning, looking unkempt for the exam. She said she had just received the notice this morning and had to rush down immediately. I doubt she had even taken her bath before leaving home.

“Psychologically, for such a lady, even if she was well prepared, it may affect her performance. So, the rescheduling wasn’t properly handled. The board should have given the students at least a week after the conclusion of the ongoing WAEC, because some of them are still writing those exams.”

Students decry distance

Many parents and students who came for the exam decried the long distance they had to travel for the exam.

One of the students who missed the first session of the CBT exam at New Ocean and identified himself as Segun, told Saturday PUNCH that he received the notification on Thursday while in Abuja.

“I was in Abuja when I got their message on Thursday. So, my brother and I had to travel down to Lagos overnight by bus. As you can see, I haven’t even taken my bath; I was rushing down. But by the time I got here, I was told the session had ended. It’s a sad one,” the boy lamented.

However, the Central Administrator of the School, Mrs Akinwolere Olusola, blamed it on the late registration of some of the students.

She said, “The place of examination is determined by when and where the students registered for the exam. Some people were posted here from far away, and it was because they registered late.

“Those who registered for the exam early would be placed at centres within their jurisdiction. But when you register late, the board will have to post them to where there are available spaces.”

Parents fear poor performance

Some parents, who spoke in separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH at the CBT centres where the resit was held on Friday, decried the short notification, saying it might result in poor performance.

One of the parents, Ejeke Patricia, whose son sat the exam at Enefem International School in the Ayobo area of Lagos, said combining the UTME with the ongoing WASSCE had become burdensome for her son.

“The notice they gave us was very short. My son has been writing the WASSCE. He only got the notice for the re-sit on Thursday afternoon, shortly after returning from his WAEC exam. I just pray that God would help him to do better,” the woman stated.

Another parent at the centre, Mrs. Kuye Temidayo, said her son got the notification very late on Thursday and never had enough time to prepare, as he was scheduled for the first session.

She said, “I came here from Ipele in Ayetoro, Ogun State. It was here they gave him the notification, and it came on Thursday evening. So, we had to quickly get his print-out and rush down here today. Personally, I believe the short notice will affect the students’ performance. The exam had even started before some of the students could locate this place. That notice was just too short,” she lamented.

“Our fear is that this may result in poor performance. We just have to pray that God helps them through it all, so that all our stress won’t be in vain. Take for instance, we had to pay for some chairs just to sit under the sun. The residents collected ₦300 from each person before giving us a chair. Those you see under that canopy had to pay even more to sit there. It’s just very stressful,” she added.

Corroborating this, another parent, Mrs Araba Stella, said some students got the exam notice on Friday morning, describing the short notice as a source of discomfort.

“We got the notification on Thursday afternoon, and we live in the Ikorodu area of Lagos. I have just been praying since then because there is a strong possibility that the short notice will affect the students’ performance.

“Some of them were expected to write the exam by 6:30 a.m. today, but some only got the notice this (Friday) morning. Some people are still unaware of their exam centre as we speak. The short notice is really causing a lot of discomfort,” she stated.

Meanwhile, the examinations were hitch-free in some centres monitored by our correspondents in Anambra and Owerri, Imo State, on Friday.

Our correspondents, who visited the three CBT centres within Awka metropolis, including St. Patrick’s College ICT Centre, JAMB ICT Centre, and St John of God ICT Centre, all in Anambra, observed heavy presence of security operatives.

The security operatives deployed to the centres were seen at their duty post conducting security screenings alongside JAMB officials’ biometric verification procedures for candidates.

Some of the candidates, who were not successfully screened, were asked to go and reprint their exam slips and were rescheduled to write the exam at a later time.

They urged JAMB to ensure that the lapses experienced in the earlier exam did not recur next time.

Speaking to our correspondent, Uchenna Akachukwu, one of the parents of a candidate at St. Patrick’s College ICT Centre, Awka, commended JAMB personnel and security officials for their “professionalism and discipline,” emphasising the importance of maintaining a secure, conducive, and serene environment for candidates.