The University of Nigeria Nsukka branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU-UNN) has issued a stern warning to the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), threatening legal action over what it describes as a “deliberate” and “unjustifiable” mass failure in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Speaking to journalists in Nsukka on Wednesday, ASUU-UNN Chairman, Dr. Óyibo Eze, accused JAMB of intentionally disadvantaging candidates from the South-East region, many of whom, he claimed, recorded historically low scores despite adequate preparation.
“My office has been flooded with complaints, protests, and visits from distraught parents and members of the public. This mass failure is not coincidental, it is targeted,” Eze declared.
He warned that ASUU would challenge the results in court if the examination body fails to review and rectify what he described as “gross irregularities” in grading.
Dr. Eze specifically criticized what he called JAMB’s “double standards” in admission thresholds, noting that students in the South-East often have to score significantly higher than their peers in other regions to gain admission into the same courses.
“In some states, candidates gain admission to study Medicine with scores as low as 120, while our children are denied admission even with scores above 200,” he said.
Citing figures released by JAMB, he noted that out of the 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the 2025 UTME, over 1.5 million scored below 200, with a significant portion from Lagos and South-East states, where many Igbo students reside.
Dr. Eze called on governors from the South-East to take immediate action, urging them not to stand by while what he described as an academic injustice unfolds.
“The governors in the zone must rise to the occasion and demand accountability from JAMB. We cannot allow the academic future of an entire generation to be sabotaged.”
Dr. Eze also pointed to surprisingly poor performances from elite institutions like the University of Nigeria Secondary School in Nsukka, where no candidate scored above 200, despite the school’s strong academic track record.
“Even if there were isolated cases of malpractice, is that enough to collectively punish hundreds of innocent students who studied diligently?”
He warned that if JAMB fails to address the issue promptly, the situation could escalate into a nationwide protest, as the credibility of the UTME and the futures of thousands of candidates hang in the balance.
“This is no longer just an education issue; it is a national crisis. JAMB must act quickly, transparently, and justly.”
