Nollywood actress Mary Njoku has raised concerns about the relevance of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in the university admission process, questioning why it’s necessary for students to take the exam in addition to the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE).
In a post on her Instagram Story, the actress wondered why the SSCE, which already confirms that candidates have completed secondary school, isn’t sufficient for gaining admission into higher institutions.
She wrote:
“Why is it necessary to take the JAMB exam to gain admission into universities? Isn’t the SSCE sufficient? I don’t understand the need for both JAMB and post-JAMB exams when the SSCE already shows we’ve completed secondary school.”
Njoku’s comments come after JAMB faced heavy criticism following widespread failures in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME). In response to the backlash, the board acknowledged errors in the results of some candidates and issued an apology.
JAMB Registrar, Is-haq Oloyede, confirmed that candidates affected by these errors, particularly in 157 centres across Lagos and the South-East, would be contacted to retake their exams starting May 16, 2025. This affects 379,997 candidates in those regions.
