…41,027 underage candidates registered, 467 passed, 50 caught cheating
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has withheld the results of 39,834 candidates over alleged involvement in examination malpractices in the just concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede made this during the official release of the 2025 UTME results in Abuja on Friday.
He also revealed that 80 individuals were currently under investigation for examination-related offences, with Anambra State recording the highest number of suspects with 14 in total.
The Registrar noted that 467 underage candidates scored above the minimum benchmark, while 50 others were found to be involved in examination fraud.
A total of 2,030,862 candidates registered for the 2025 UTME, which was conducted across 882 CBT centres, each of which was generally monitored by 10 invigilators of different categories.
“A total of 39, 834 results remain unreleased. Of these, 1,426 results are under scrutiny and processing,” Oloyede said.
According to the JAMB boss, out of the figure, 96 candidates results were withheld over exam malpractices, a decrease from 123 in the previous year.
Oloyede said the Board remained resolute in its commitment to eliminating any form of examination malpractice, adding that 1,957,000 candidates were verified to sit for the exam, while 71,705 were absent.
According to him, 2,157 candidates experienced fingerprint rejections due to suspected registration infractions, a figure, he said, was far above acceptable margins and currently under investigation.
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“The 2025 UTME showed the prevalence of some particular types of infractions, which suggests systemic vulnerabilities or gaps in registration and examination administration or/and monitoring.
“The new trends observed were in the Registration and Examination processes and they were mainly in the following categories: Identity Fraud, and Biometric Fraud of Combined Thumbprint of Candidate,” he said.
Other infractions, he said, were impersonator at the point of registration with the active involvement of few CBT Centres, double registration, and attempted substitution of self by candidates.
Oloyede added that 244 candidates were caught engaging in “WhatsApp runs,” subscribing to rogue groups promising leaked questions.
He said their results had also been withheld to set a stern example.
In some cases, he said, the entire syndicates colluded with CBT centres to register using multiple fingerprints.
According to him, as a result of this, 3,656 candidates with “extraneous fingerprints” have had their results withheld, and some CBT centres implicated will face sanctions.
He identified the centres as Tigh Technologies Limited, Sascon International School, Maitama, Abuja, Wudil Computer Information Technology. Wudil, Kano State and Penta M &Amp; Centre 2, Tambuwal LGA, Sokoto, Sokoto State.
Oloyede added that 80 suspects were being interrogated by the police for their involvement in the examination malpractices and most of them would be prosecuted.
“The Board has identified the presence of extraneous fingers in the registration details of some of these candidates. This raises concerns regarding potential strategies for impersonation.
“A total of 3,656 candidates fall within this category. Consequently, the results of the candidates have been withheld.
Speaking on underage candidates, Oloyede noted that as earlier approved by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, opportunity was provided for underage candidates (16 years and below) to showcase their academic abilities.
He also recalled that at the last Policy Meeting of the admission policy of the Board, stakeholders resolved to implement the prescribed 16-year minimum age for entry into tertiary institutions, and to raise it to 18 years from 2025, but the Minister on resumption of office upheld the 16-year minimum entry age but halted the implementation of the proposal to raise it to 18 years from 2025.
“Even then, provision was made as obtainable in other climes for proven and exceptionally brilliant candidates.
“Unfortunately, some vested interests created a wrong impression that the Minister of Education has reviewed downward the prescribed 16-year minimum age for tertiary education.
“But in compliance with regulations regarding the stipulated minimum admissible age, the Board restricted registration to candidates who meet the stipulated criteria.
“However, it provided an opportunity for acclaimed exceptionally-gifted candidates to demonstrate their abilities as long as their performance in UTME, SSCE, P-UTME and Gifted Candidate Test, attest to their being exceptionally gifted.
“While we recognise that maturity is often correlated with biological age, we also acknowledge that there are exceptional cases.
“A total of 41,027 candidates registered for the UTME under this underage category, with assurance that they would face the consequences if they do not meet the prescribed score.
“At the end, only 467 candidates attained the minimum UTME score for exceptional candidates, and they are being processed for the remaining 3 stages of assessment.
“Successful candidates have been notified of their achievement, while those who do not meet the threshold have also been notified of their inability to meet the prescribed minimum score.”
JAMB Registrar also stated that 50 of the underage candidates were implicated in a cheating syndicate scandal.
The results for underage candidates as released by JAMB indicated that 467 candidates (1.16%) scored 320 and above; 667 candidates (1.66%) scored 300 to 319; 4, 665 candidates (11.59%) scored 250 to 299; 12, 357 (30.69%) scored 200 to 249; 15, 978 candidates (39.69%) scored 160 to 199; 5,528 candidates (13.73%) scored 140 to 159; 5,541 candidates (1.38%) scored 120 to 139; 30 candidates (0.07%) scored 100 to 119; 15 candidates (0.04%) scored below 100.
He said that the Board remained committed to providing the necessary support for persons with disabilities aspiring to pursue tertiary education.
He said that for the 2025 UTME, a total of 501 candidates were successfully examined by JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG) across 11 centres nationwide.
According to Oloyede, the results are also being released but sadly, one of them was also involved in impersonation.
The registrar also said that due to substandard performance, four centres had been delisted and blacklisted for technical deficiencies
He therefore said that a list of those blacklisted for fraudulent practices would soon be made public with details of their nefarious activities.
Oloyede maintained that in spite of challenges, the 2025 UTME had been hailed as one of the most successful in recent years.
He reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to zero-tolerance stance on malpractice and pledged continued innovation to protect the credibility of public examinations.
On how to check the UTME results, Oloyede said : ” To check the 2025 UTME results, candidates should send by text message “UTMERESULT” as one word to 55019 or 66019 using the same phone number they had used to register during the registration process. Result printing will be available later.”
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