Seventy-five per cent of the 1,955,069 candidates who wrote this year’s University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) scored less than 200 out of the 400 maximum marks.
Statistical analysis of the results released yesterday by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) indicated that 420,415 candidates scored above 200 marks while 7,658 had between 300 and 319.
Those who recorded above 320 marks in the examination written between April 25 and last Friday are only 4,756.
Individuals’ results will be made public by the board this week.
In last year’s UTME, 1,402,490 candidates scored below 200, representing 76 per cent of the 1,842,464 results released
Those who scored above 300 marks were 8,401. About 77,070 had 250 or above. A total of 1,904,189 candidates wrote the examination then.
JAMB also said that 97 candidates were involved in examination infractions during the 2025 examination, while 2,157 others are undergoing investigations for suspected malpractices.
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It added that “40,247 underage candidates were permitted to participate in the 2025 examination out of which 1.16 per cent achieved scores that meet the threshold for exceptional ability.’’
“However, only 467 of these candidates (1.16 per cent ) achieved scores that meet the threshold for exceptional ability as defined for the UTME, with their performance in the subsequent three stages still pending,” the board wrote on its X (formerly Twitter) handle.
The post added: “Additionally, 71,701 candidates were absent. Those facing biometric challenges are also under investigation, and those who are cleared will be rescheduled for examination at designated centres.
“Furthermore, a few of the results, including those of blind candidates and others in the JEOG(JAMB Equal Opportunity Group)candidates group, are still being processed.’’
Result a wake-up call, says Osodeke
President of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) Prof Emmanuel Osodeke called on government at all levels to take proactive action to revive education.
According to him, the government should take a second look at the primary and secondary education to ensure there are no lapses at the developmental stage.
Referencing the statistics of the just released JAMB result, Osodeke described the performance as terrible.
He said: “If 75% of the students who sat for the examination scored less than 200; that means it’s a terrible result.
“We are not saying that there is a fall in excellence on how our students perform in examination. I urge the government at all levels to take a second look at our educational system, especially the primary and secondary.
“We hardly hear of governors establishing new secondary schools, but you hear them saying they want to establish new universities.
“You would be surprised that the students who failed this JAMB, scored As in their West African Examinations Council (WAEC). There is a gap.
“This JAMB performance should serve as a wakeup call for us to take a look at our educational system again, because, it has fallen apart.”
The ASUU boss lamented that the performance would have a bad effect on the requirement for admission into tertiary institutions.
“From this result, the cut off mark into higher institutions might come down to 100, which is 25% of performance,” Osodeke noted.
How to reverse trend
Reflecting on the dismal performance by admission seekers, Vice Chancellor African School of Economics, Abuja, Prof Mahfouz Adedimeji, called for the overhaul of the education system.
He said: “It is revealing that according to JAMB‘s data, only 12,414 candidates, representing a mere 0.63% of the total 1,955,069 candidates, who sat for the 2025 UTME examination, scored 300 and above. As many as 983,187 candidates or 50.29% are within the 160–199 score range.
“Though JAMB has often emphasized that its results are just for ranking, and that O’level results actually determine the academic performance of the students, the situation points to the need to rejig education to achieve better results. The scores are a reflection of the quality of students we have now.
“The newly released results point to the need for reform. Teaching has to be incentivised to make teachers face their job squarely and not to be seeking alternative means of making ends meet. It speaks to the need to retool education to make it have high quality.”
“I want to commend JAMB on putting in place a system that guarantees the quality and integrity of examinations. The scores should serve as the basis of national awakening.
“Governments have to create conducive environments for learning, teachers have to be motivated with improved welfare packages and students have to be orientated to see education as a ticket to the future, and not consider school as a scam.”
Deputy National President of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo expressed sadness
He said: “It is sad and unfortunate that over one million pupils scored below 200. It is a serious matter. Parents of course are culpable in this.
The Nation
