The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has lauded the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for its openness in addressing concerns surrounding the recently concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which saw an unusual wave of complaints from candidates regarding their scores.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Director-General of NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, praised JAMB’s willingness to engage stakeholders, clarify technical issues, and offer explanations concerning the 2025 UTME, in which over 1.5 million candidates sat across the country. He described the Board’s approach as “commendably transparent,” especially in a climate where public trust in institutions is often tested.
“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has shown courage by not ignoring the outcry. Their openness to scrutiny and public dialogue on the discrepancies reported by some candidates shows institutional maturity,” Issa-Onilu said.
However, the NOA DG urged JAMB to go a step further by launching a detailed investigation into the system lapses that may have triggered unexpected scores for thousands of candidates, many of whom expressed shock and dissatisfaction after viewing their results. He emphasized that public confidence in national examinations depends heavily on the credibility of the process.
Issa-Onilu also advised JAMB to bolster its technical infrastructure and adopt fail-safe digital safeguards to prevent future disruptions that could lead to inconsistencies in result computation or transmission.
Over the past week, JAMB has faced mounting criticism on social media and from civil society groups after some UTME candidates reported results that starkly contradicted their expectations. In response, JAMB issued a statement attributing the irregularities to a combination of candidate error, misinformation, and isolated technical glitches, none of which, the Board insists, affected the integrity of the overall exam.
NOA noted that while it acknowledges the efforts JAMB has made to maintain the sanctity of the UTME process, any ambiguity or error must be corrected with full accountability and improved communication to candidates.
Stakeholders, including parents and educational advocacy groups, have continued to call for transparency, suggesting that JAMB should offer an open review process for aggrieved candidates and consider releasing technical audit reports of the 2025 UTME.
As the admission process into tertiary institutions progresses, the NOA encouraged candidates to remain calm and law-abiding, while appealing to JAMB to ensure that no student is unfairly disadvantaged due to technical failings.
