The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a new round of mop-up examinations for candidates who missed the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
According to JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, over 5.6% of candidates were absent from the exam, and the board is providing them with another opportunity. “This time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence will get another opportunity,” Oloyede said.
“It’s not extraordinary. In any serious system, when students miss an exam, they’re allowed to make up—provided there’s no abuse.”
Oloyede emphasised that the UTME is 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 growing criticism and conspiracy theories about the examination process, Oloyede firmly rejected claims of ethnic bias or administrative incompetence.
He stated, “I take responsibility, not because I failed, but because that’s leadership.
“I didn’t even realise people viewed issues around me through ethnic lenses. We must rise above such profiling.”
JAMB says the special mop-up exam will be scheduled soon, and it remains committed to transparency and fairness in admissions. Oloyede praised both candidates and staff for their resilience, saying, “We had limited space. We knew if we wasted more time grieving the challenges, students would lose their opportunity.”
With the new mop-up exams, JAMB is giving candidates another chance to showcase their abilities, reaffirming its commitment to a fair and transparent admissions process.
