JAMB announces mop-up exams for candidates who missed UTME
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed plans for a new round of mop-up examinations to accommodate the over 5.6 percent of candidates who were unable to participate in the just-concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
During a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, JAMB Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede stated that this initiative will extend to all affected candidates, regardless of their reasons for missing the initial examination. He emphasized, “This time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence will get another opportunity.”
Oloyede clarified that the UTME serves as a placement test intended to rank candidates for limited admission spaces, rather than assess their intelligence or academic capability. He stated, “Its purpose is to rank candidates for limited admission slots, not to test how smart someone is.”
In response to rising criticism and conspiracy theories surrounding the examination process, Oloyede firmly dismissed claims of ethnic bias or administrative incompetence, asserting, “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.”
He also commended both candidates and staff for their perseverance amid logistical challenges, remarking, “We had limited space. We knew if we wasted more time grieving the challenges, students would lose their opportunity.”
The special mop-up exam will be scheduled soon, with JAMB reaffirming its commitment to transparency and fairness in the admissions process.
Source: PUNCH
