Education
2025 UTME Glitch Directed Against Ndigbo, ASUU Alleges
By Gideon Ayeni
The University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to take the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to court over the widespread failure recorded in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Speaking to journalists in Nsukka on Wednesday, ASUU branch chairman, Dr. Óyibo Eze, described the mass failure as a “deliberate academic sabotage” aimed particularly at candidates from the South East region.
“My office has been inundated with protests, calls, and visits from parents and concerned Nigerians about what appears to be a calculated attempt to fail thousands of candidates, especially those from the South East,” Eze said.
He warned that unless JAMB urgently reviews the results and awards deserving candidates their actual scores, ASUU will pursue legal action at the High Court.
Dr. Eze claimed that the 2025 UTME results show signs of systemic bias, arguing that while candidates from certain regions are admitted into universities with scores as low as 120, South East candidates are often required to score far higher to secure admission.
Out of the 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the 2025 UTME, over 1.5 million scored below 200. According to Eze, a significant portion of these low scores came from the South East and Lagos, where many Igbos reside.
The ASUU chairman expressed disbelief over reports that not a single student from University Secondary School, Nsukka—a school known for academic excellence—scored above 200.
“How can a school filled with brilliant, high-performing students suddenly turn out zero candidates scoring above 200?” he asked. “Even if malpractice was recorded in a few cases, how does that justify penalizing all the students from the same centre?”
He called on governors from the South East to intervene, saying, “Our leaders must not sit idle while the academic future of our children is undermined. This is a matter of regional and national concern.”
Eze stressed that ASUU is not opposed to punishing candidates found guilty of malpractice, but insisted that collective punishment of innocent students was unjust and unacceptable.
He urged JAMB to urgently revisit its decision and release the actual results to avoid further damaging the trust of Nigerians in the country’s educational institutions.
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