ASUU to sue JAMB over 2025 UTME mass failure

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) branch, has threatened to take legal action against the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over the widespread failure recorded in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Chairman of ASUU-UNN, Comrade Óyibo Eze, made this known during a press briefing in Nsukka on Wednesday, alleging that the mass failure particularly among candidates from the South East was a deliberate attempt to deny students from the region access to higher education.

“My office has been flooded with protests, phone calls, and visits from concerned parents and members of the public over the deliberate mass failure in the 2025 UTME,” Eze said. “If JAMB fails to review the results and award candidates their deserved scores, ASUU will seek redress in court.”

He further claimed that students from the South East are often subjected to higher admission standards compared to their counterparts from other regions who are admitted with significantly lower scores.

“In the recently released results, out of 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the exam, over 1.5 million scored below 200 majority of whom are from the South East and Lagos, where many Igbo students reside,” he added.

Eze called on governors of the South East to urgently intervene and demand fairness, describing the situation as a direct assault on the region’s educational aspirations.

“The governors must not remain silent while JAMB jeopardizes the future of our children. We’re not against punishing those involved in examination malpractice, but the board must not penalize entire centres unjustly.”

He expressed disbelief that no student from the University of Nigeria Secondary School, Nsukka, scored up to 200 in the UTME, despite the institution’s record of academic excellence.

“This school has consistently produced top-performing students both within and outside Nigeria. How is it possible that not a single candidate scored above 200? Even if malpractice was suspected in a few cases, that does not justify failing all the candidates,” he said.

Eze warned that the issue could spark nationwide protests if not addressed promptly and urged JAMB to reassess the 2025 UTME results to prevent what he described as a looming academic injustice.

Meanwhile, JAMB has admitted to experiencing technical glitches during the conduct of the examination.