Alarming! 75% of Candidates Score Below Average in 2025 UTME — What’s Going Wrong?

Out of the 1,955,069 applicants who took the University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (2025 UTME) this year, 75% received a score below 200 out of a possible 400.

According to the statistical analysis of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) results issued yesterday, 7,658 students received scores between 300 and 319, while 420,415 candidates received scores above 200.

There were only 4,756 people who scored higher than 320 on the test that was administered between April 25 and last Friday.

The board will release individual findings this week.

In the UTME last year, 1,402,490 applicants received scores below 200, accounting for 76% of the 1,842,464 results that were made public.

8,401 people received scores higher than 300. Approximately 77,070 had 250 or more. At that time, 1,904,189 candidates took the test.

Additionally, according to JAMB, 2,157 candidates are being investigated for possible malpractices, and 97 candidates participated in examination violations during the 2025 exam.

“40,247 underage candidates were allowed to take the 2025 exam, and 1.16 percent of them received scores that meet the threshold for exceptional ability,” the statement continued.

On its X (previously Twitter) profile, the board stated, “However, only 467 of these candidates (1.16 percent) achieved scores that meet the threshold for exceptional ability as defined for the UTME, with their performance in the subsequent three stages still pending.”

Furthermore, 71,701 hopefuls were not present, the article continued. Those who have biometric issues are also being investigated, and those who pass will be rescheduled for testing at certain locations.

Additionally, some of the results are still being analyzed, such as those of blind candidates and other members of the JEOG (JAMB Equal Opportunity Group) applicants group.

Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, president of the Academic Staff Union of the University (ASUU), urged all tiers of government to act decisively to revitalize education.

He believes that in order to make sure there are no developmental failures, the government had to reexamine elementary and secondary education.

Osodeke called the performance “dreadful,” using the recently announced JAMB results numbers.

“It’s a terrible result if 75% of the students who took the test scored less than 200,” he remarked.

“We are not claiming that our pupils’ exam scores have declined in terms of excellence. I implore all tiers of government to reconsider our educational system, particularly the elementary and secondary levels.

“You hear governors stating that they wish to create more universities, but we hardly ever hear of them creating new secondary schools.

The fact that the students who failed the JAMB received As on the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will surprise you. A gap exists.

“We should use this JAMB performance as a wake-up call to reevaluate our educational system because it has collapsed.”

The head of ASUU bemoaned the fact that the performance would negatively impact the prerequisite for admission to universities.

According to Osodeke, “This result might bring the cutoff mark into higher institutions down to 100, which is 25% of performance.”

Prof. Mahfouz Adedimeji, the vice chancellor of the African School of Economics in Abuja, urged a reform of the educational system after considering the poor performance of applicants.

He stated, “JAMB data shows that only 12,414 candidates, or 0.63% of the 1,955,069 candidates who took the 2025 UTME exam, received a score of 300 or higher. This is shocking.” Up to 983,187 applicants, or 50.29%, fall between scores of 160 and 199.

Even while JAMB has frequently stressed that its findings are only used for ranking and that O-level results truly define students’ academic performance, the current state of affairs suggests that education needs to be redesigned to produce better outcomes. The quality of our current student body is reflected in the scores.

The results that were just made public indicate that reform is necessary. In order to force teachers to face their work head-on and refrain from looking for other ways to make ends meet, they must be given incentives to educate. It highlights the necessity of retooling education to achieve high standards.

“I would want to thank JAMB for implementing a mechanism that ensures the integrity and quality of exams. The national awakening should be based on the scores.

“Governments must establish learning-friendly environments, provide better welfare packages to encourage teachers, and orient students to view education as a means of achieving their goals rather than as a fraud.”

Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo, Deputy National President of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), conveyed his sorrow.

“It is regrettable and sad that more than one million students received scores below 200,” he remarked. It’s a serious situation. Naturally, parents are to blame for this.