JAMB announces mop-up UTME for over 5.6% absent candidates

JAMB has announced a new mop-up examination for over 5.6% of candidates who missed the 2025 UTME, with Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede emphasizing fairness and rejecting claims of bias

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced a fresh round of mop-up examinations for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Also read: JAMB addresses unusual complaints over 2025 UTME results

This initiative is set to accommodate over 5.6% of candidates who missed the recently concluded main examination.

JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made this disclosure on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja.

He stated that the mop-up examination would be open to all affected candidates, irrespective of the reason for their initial absence.

“This time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence will get another opportunity,” Professor Oloyede affirmed.

He further explained the rationale, saying, “It’s not extraordinary. In any serious system, when students miss an exam, they’re allowed to make up—provided there’s no abuse.”

This time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence will get another opportunity.

Professor Oloyede reiterated that the UTME serves as a placement test, not a measure of intelligence or academic potential.

He clarified, “Its purpose is to rank candidates for limited admission slots, not to test how smart someone is.”

Addressing recent criticisms and conspiracy theories surrounding the examination process, Professor Oloyede firmly rejected claims of ethnic bias or administrative incompetence.

“I take responsibility, not because I failed, but because that’s leadership,” he stated. He also expressed surprise at the ethnic lens through which some issues were perceived, urging a move beyond such profiling.