The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed that more than 80% of the 98,232 candidates scheduled for the 2025 mop-up Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) failed to show up at their respective centres nationwide.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who monitored the mop-up exercise in Abuja at the Technology CBT Centre, NAF Valley Estate, stated that only about 12% of the registered candidates actually showed up for the exam.
He clarified that the mop-up UTME is usually reserved for a small number of candidates with verified excuses such as illness or technical difficulties. However, this year’s unusually large figure was a deliberate decision by the Board, influenced by intelligence from security agencies and the need to flush out impersonators and syndicates linked to exam malpractice.
“Every year, we do mop-up. And it is normally for about 4,000, 5,000 students. Who for illness, for genuine excuse, could not take the exam. Or who, after review, we saw had technical problems in their centers. This is normally for about 4,000, 5,000. Every year, we do that,” Oloyede explained.
He noted that while the Board aimed to give all absentees from the main UTME a second chance, they were also using the opportunity to track and apprehend impersonators.
“In the wisdom of the management and our stakeholders, we felt everybody (who missed the exam) should be given opportunity. Whether for whatever reason that you did not make it. But again, we also knew that we are wiser.
“Given the work that we have done in conjunction with the SSS and the police. We have been able to get some intelligence, some information that we could use. To really apprehend those who are impersonating in particular.
“So we now felt that it’s better to keep the door open as wide as possible. At least to apprehend (impersonators)……And then you can see that the performance (turnout) throughout the country is far, far below what you would expect. Those who even indicated coming out of the 90,000, there are about 12,000 plus. Who eventually, who indicated that they were coming,” he said.
Prof. Oloyede revealed that many CBT centres, which expected about 250 candidates per session, recorded fewer than 20 attendees. According to him, this was no surprise, as many of those who missed the main UTME were allegedly part of syndicates involving tutorial centres and some private school owners.
“Because what you have is a bunch of syndicates. Particularly those who say they are tutorial centers. They are some private school proprietors who have become syndicates of examination malpractice,” he said, affirming that the Federal Ministry of Education is determined to combat malpractice and reduce it to the barest minimum.
One of the shocking revelations during the mop-up exam was the false declaration of albino status by many candidates. According to the Registrar, this was a ploy to exploit facial recognition systems.
“We have never had even up to 100 albinos any year. But this year, you have 1,787 albinos. Those who declared to be albino, 1,787.
“So, out of 2 million. And we now found out that one centre registered 450 out of this 1,000. As if all albinos in Africa decided to go to that centre
“Why are they sourcing a number of albinos? They are not not albinos. It is because the AI that they were using had certain features. That if they do not declare themselves as albino in our form, you will look critically more.
“Because it makes it reddish. The colour. So, when one of those arrested or one of those in custody now gave information that, look, I will tell you. This is the first step towards it.
“So, we now go after all those who claimed to be albino. And we found out that all the albinos are less than 250…..
“You can see the black man arrested (in Benin) claiming to be an albino. How do you become albino? But that is one of their strategies. To declare that they are albino…… Because what they do in blending is that if you want to impersonate him, they will take the picture of two of you. And then blend it. When you look at the picture, it will look like you. It will also look like you. That’s what the AI is doing now. It’s picture blending,” he narrated.
The Board also assured that it has gathered enough data to trace those who registered but failed to take the exam, warning that security agencies are already making arrests.
“They registered with their name. They have schools. They have NINs. They had their phone number. The security agencies are capable of picking them. And indeed, a number of them are already picked up,” Oloyede warned.
He also revealed that parents who fund or support examination malpractice may soon be investigated and prosecuted.
Regarding the release of mop-up results, the Registrar said while they may be ready as early as Saturday, the Board might delay them until Monday to allow for final vetting and the removal of any fraudulent entries.
“So that may make us delay till Monday, just to be able to see how many of those criminals we have been able to arrest,” he said.
In another related issue, Oloyede revealed that 14 candidates applying for Direct Entry (DE) admissions have already been caught presenting fake NCE certificates.
“A new one that we discovered yesterday in the ongoing registration was that about 20, 30 students who did not go to through NCE were being awarded NCE certificates in order to be able to register for Direct Entry.
“And one of the students who finished from secondary school in 2021, was purportedly admitted to NCE in 2020 in order to graduate in 2023. And the reason simply was that, you know, there was the condoness granted by the then Minister of Education from 2017 to 2020. Those who were illegally admitted, because of their large number, they were recommended that let us condone (the illegal admission) because these students, we thought they were likely innocent.
“So about 1 million of them. So we wanted to clear them. But when we asked them to bring their certificates for clearance, there was no certificate.
“Some of them who had graduated as a medical doctor are now bringing results in chemistry, in biology of after graduation. …..It’s not something you can remedy after graduation. You want to become an engineer, you do it without a credit in Mathematics. After you have been caught, you now say, yes, I’m going to do the GCE. It doesn’t work like that. You ought to have had it before going through the training.
“So we have a large number of them. So what they are now doing is that because they cannot go through with them again, because we have closed the gates. They are now admitting people after 2020.
“And they are now validating their certificates between 2017 and 2020. There are many institutions involved. But all of them, they will have to pay for it,” he concluded.
These above are the answers to:
Why many candidates missed the 2025 JAMB mop-up exam
JAMB’s fight against UTME impersonators
How JAMB is using AI to detect exam fraud
Number of candidates absent from JAMB 2025 mop-up UTME
Consequences of impersonation in JAMB exams
How tutorial centres aid examination malpractice in Nigeria
Oloyede speaks on low turnout for JAMB mop-up
JAMB crackdown on fake Direct Entry certificate
