The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that no fewer than 40 persons have been arrested for impersonating candidates during the ongoing 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Meanwhile, many parents and guardians have criticised the early 6:30am resumption time, describing it as too harsh, especially for candidates travelling long distances to their centres.
The 2025 UTME, which began on Thursday, April 24, will continue until Monday, May 5. JAMB said over 2,030,627 candidates are sitting for the examination across accredited Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres nationwide.
Some parents lamented that their children were posted to centres far from home, making it difficult for them to meet the early schedule. A mother in the Awoyaya area of Lekki, Lagos, shared her ordeal, saying her 14-year-old son was posted to Ikorodu.
“The exam slip says candidates must be at the centre by 6:30am. My son would have to leave home by 4am. I don’t have a car. Even if I follow him, how do we find a bus that early?” she lamented.
She appealed to JAMB to adjust the time, describing the current arrangement as “wickedness.”
On social media, several Nigerians also expressed their frustrations. A user, Olaoluwa Yinka, said his younger sister had to travel from Abeokuta to Ijebu Igbo for a 6:30am paper.
“When I wrote JAMB, it was by 9am and the heavens did not fall. This CBT arrangement is part of the problem,” he wrote.
Another user, Lucas Oluwadare, narrated how his sister had to move to his place to avoid missing her exam.
Activist Rinu Oduala also faulted JAMB, asking why teenagers had to travel over 50km for a 6:30am exam. “How can educated people make policies that are this unreasonable?” she queried.
In another incident, a mother, Nnem Chacha-Gold, said she followed her daughter from Ejigbo to Ikorodu as early as 4:30am.
“I heard that some candidates even slept outside their centres overnight. That’s not safe or fair for these children,” she said.
In a related development, a 16-year-old candidate, Esther Oladele, was reported missing after losing her way while travelling from Ajah to Epe for her exam. Her brother, identified as Richard on social media, said she entered a wrong bus and had not been heard from for nearly 24 hours.
After massive online search efforts and appeals to authorities, Esther was found safe in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, about 48 hours later. A statement shared online thanked Nigerians for their support in locating her.
Speaking further on examination malpractice, JAMB’s spokesperson, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, regretted that despite the board’s measures, impersonation remains a major challenge.
He noted that while other countries successfully conduct remote examinations, Nigeria’s current situation makes it impracticable.
“If Nigerians were transparent, we could do CBT exams from home and submit online. But you know what would happen if we try it here,” he said.
