UTME Results Saga: Groups Demand Accountability, Systemic Reforms in Varsity Admission Process

By Praise Chinecherem

Women Aid Collective (WACOL) and other non-governmental organizations have demanded accountability and systemic reforms in the joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) admission process.

This is sequel to the recent controversies that have disadvantaged thousands of Nigerian Students.

WACOL also renewed the call for a thorough and urgent audit of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) system.

This is to unravel the cause of the systemic failure in the 2025 UTME especially as it concerns the South eastern states and Lagos State.

WACOL made the call during a one-day protest to the JAMB office in Anambra State, held in collaboration with Southeast Human Right Civil Society Situation Room, Southeast Women’s Network (SEWNET), and 50/50 Action Women Group.

The organizations protested against the irregularities in the recently- concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in which students majorly from Southeast region and Lagos recorded mass failure.

The protesters carried placards with inscriptions such as: “WACOL stands for students rights” “Stop sabotaging South East students’ future,” and “We demand fairness in UTME for all regions.

Other placards read: “Equal opportunity not regional discrimination”, “Our children deserve credible examinations” as well as “Investigate and sanction JAMB officials involved”.

They were worried that the zone that hitherto scored the highest in UTME suddenly plunged into an unexplained abysmal failure.

The protest letter read by Ifeyinwa Ofodile-Nwafor, WACOL Anambra’s Legal Officer, called for an audit of the activities of the Board in the past 5years.

It also advocated tangible and urgent measures by Southeast state governments to forestall future occurrences.

Punish culpable officials

The protesters also called for a thorough investigation of the persons responsible for the alleged glitch in JAMB office.

They want officials found culpable to face appropriate penalties while their punishments are made public in the interest of accountability.

“We are equally asking for the reorientation of the personnel at the helm of affairs at the Board with the aim of making them detribalized in such sensitive matters of national importance.

“We solicit an atmosphere of equality in all the regions of the country without any form of discrimination against any region at all.

The protesters also called for a conducive atmosphere for students in future exams without subjecting them to emotional and psychological trauma.

“We also strongly call for an unreserved apology to the students who sat for this year’s UTME for the unnecessary trauma caused them by the failure of JAMB and its system”.

JAMB Remains committed to core values

Responding the JAMB Coordinator in Anambra State Jema Iheme, explained that JAMB is resolutely committed to its core values of service and integrity.

Following the setback, the Board quickly rescheduled the exam, which they did Friday last week, Saturday. Here, we even conducted on Sunday.

We did it quickly because WAEC is on now and NECO is coming next. So, there is no better alternative than to reschedule it quickly.

“We have 33 centers in Anambra and each center had four sections on Friday and Saturday with each section comprising of 200 to 250 candidates.

Nnewi had five sections because they had more population than other ones. Here in our office, we conducted same examination for 15 persons who gave reasons for failing to take part in the sections on Friday and Saturday.

“We doubled their transport fare and paid all of them for the inconveniences. I can assure you that such error will not occur again”.