Most students who take the exam need to score less than 50% of the points they need to go to college [NurPhoto via Getty Images]
Nigeria's national examination agencies acknowledged a “technical failure” that hurt some of the results of this year's college entrance examinations after nearly 80% of students achieved low grades.
Students complained that they could not log in to the computer, had no problems and power cuts, and were unable to take the exam.
The low pass rate has caused widespread anger, especially after a candidate took his own life.
Faith Opesusi Timileyin, 19, longs to study microbiology at university, and his family died after swallowing poison, her family said.
Her father and sister told the BBC that she took the exam for the second time, scoring 146 out of 400 points, down from 193 last year.
“The pain caused her to commit suicide,” her father, Oluwafemi Opesusi, told the BBC Pidgin.
Typically, 200 or more points out of 400 are enough to have a place in the university.
Of the 1.9 million students, only 400,000 have obtained this mark, one of the worst performances in recent years.
Fave Eke, a student, told BBC Igbo that 10 of 165 questions did not appear on the screen – all she could see was a multi-choice choice for the answers.
“We were told to omit blank questions and continue the exam, but it was difficult to concentrate afterward,” she said.
She also had technical problems and achieved results, which meant she was unlikely to go to college this year – she took the exam for the third time.
She took the exam in the capital Abuja, which was not one of the centers where students could retest, completely upset her.
Examination agencies apologize for “painful harm” and “trauma of affected Nigerians”.
At the press conference, Ishaq Oloyede, a registrar of the Joint Admissions and Admissions Committee (JAMB), shed tears as she apologized.
He announced that nearly 380,000 candidates from 157 affected centers in total will retake the exam starting Saturday.
The most affected areas are Lagos and several southeastern states.
JAMB accused the computer system of failing to upload test responses in these fields within the first few days of the test.
It says “unusual public attention and loud complaints” “prompt us to review or review immediately.” It says this usually happens in June.
The National Examination, known as the Uniform Level 3 Entrance Examination (UTME), is a computer-based exam that is required by those who join universities and other Level 3 institutions.
The 2025 test, conducted in March 2025, was damaged by power outages in certain areas.
Exam agencies defended bad results earlier this week, saying they reflected students’ “real academic competence” and were due to cheating efforts.
Many Nigerians on social media have been calling for accountability, and some seek Oloyd's resignation.
Opposition figure Peter Obi said that while admitting the fault is commendable, the question raises “issues about glitches and serious damage issues”, which are in key institutions.
It is “incompetent. It's a destruction of education. He should be arrested immediately,” said rights activist Rinu Oduala.
Other reports by Chukwunaeme Obiejesi, Andrew Gifts in Nigeria and Wonderful Obomanu
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