Deputy Speaker Demands Independent Audit Of JAMB’s Exam System After Technical Glitch.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to conduct an independent and transparent audit of its examination infrastructure following a significant technical glitch that disrupted the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, Mr. Kalu called for a thorough review involving external professionals, system engineers, and academic measurement experts to examine JAMB’s Computer-Based Test (CBT) engine, question delivery, answer validation, and result collation processes. The move comes in response to a critical system failure that affected approximately 379,997 candidates, primarily in the South-East and Lagos regions.
The Deputy Speaker revealed that a system patch essential for new shuffling and validation protocols was not deployed to server clusters servicing 157 exam centres—92 in the South-East and 65 in Lagos. This error, which persisted until the 17th session, meant centres operated with outdated server logic, leading to improper validation of candidates’ responses and misrepresented scores. Kalu described the issue as a “preventable human error” rather than deliberate sabotage, but stressed its severe impact on students.
“To ensure no candidate is left behind, JAMB must triangulate internal findings with external audits,” Kalu said. He urged JAMB to review technical reports, including those from third-party educational technology firms like Educare, which analysed data from over 15,000 candidates, confirming that 14,000 were from affected regions.
Kalu highlighted three major changes introduced in the 2025 UTME that contributed to the crisis. First, JAMB shifted from count-based to source-based result analysis, focusing on the logic behind answers rather than their quantity. Second, full-scale shuffling of questions and answer options was implemented to enhance test security. Third, systemic improvements aimed at optimising performance led to the highest UTME scores in 15 years—a significant achievement marred by the operational failure.
The Deputy Speaker expressed concern for candidates, particularly in the South-East and Lagos, who faced logistical challenges, psychological strain, and scheduling conflicts with ongoing West African Examinations Council (WAEC) assessments due to hurriedly arranged resit exams. Complaints from the resits included difficult questions, technical glitches, and poor centre coordination.
To address the crisis, Kalu called for a clear mechanism for remarks and appeals, stronger deployment validation protocols, and real-time monitoring to prevent future issues. He also urged JAMB to publish anonymised candidate-level result data for independent verification and to open its systems to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to rebuild public trust.
“Coordination with WAEC and other examination bodies must continue to ensure no candidate’s academic progression is impeded,” he added.
The call for an audit has been echoed by other stakeholders, including educational associations, as JAMB faces mounting pressure to address the fallout from the 2025 UTME. Kalu’s intervention underscores the need for transparency and accountability to restore confidence in Nigeria’s tertiary admissions process.
