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3 Brutal Truths Behind Why Many Nigerian Students Keep Failing JAMB — Must-Read for 2025 UTME

The growing crisis in Nigeria’s education system has once again been made clear by the recently announced results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Moreover, over 1.5 million of the approximately 2 million applicants received scores below 200, representing a failure rate of over 78%. This is a national emergency, not merely a scholarly matter.

Although there are many systemic and individual factors at work, I’ll concentrate on three main causes of this problem.

Educational Standards Collapse

The persistent underfunding of education is one of the main causes of the widespread failure. Nigeria continues to have one of the lowest budgets in Africa for education. Basic facilities, modern curriculum, and trained teachers are lacking in many public schools. Additionally, the curriculum itself is out of date and does not encourage young people to think critically or solve problems.

School is a “scam.”

Anti-intellectualism has become more prevalent in our society. Nigerian kids today are inundated with a culture that exalts quick routes to fame and fortune. The conviction in the power of education has been undermined by the rise in popularity of “school na scam” rhetoric, the idolization of dishonest performers and scammers, and politicians who falsify their credentials.

We lose the fight before it starts when kids place greater value on illicit revenue or social media influence than on learning. The promotion and celebration of celebrities who have low educational standards is an example of this cultural rot. It is seen in the normalization of insincerity among students who value peer approval, opulent lifestyles, and iPhones over education.

Being mediocre

It was an institutional failing as well as a warning sign when the JAMB cut-off point was lowered to 160. It appeared that rather than encouraging pupils to reach academic requirements, the system was rewarding mediocrity. Standards are currently being lowered by institutions to account for deteriorating performance, which would discourage diligent students and provide the false impression that greatness is no longer necessary.

What Must Be Modified

All parties involved must take steps to resolve this problem. Parents need to be involved in their kids’ education. They ought to put principles, self-control, and education ahead of convenience and looks. They must teach the value of tenacity and academic success instead of giving in to the temptation to purchase short cuts.

The meritocracy and discipline culture in education must be restored by educators and school administrators. The government must proclaim a state of emergency in education, and schools should be places where students may learn rigorously. The moment has come for a significant investment in new curricula, digital learning resources, teacher training, and the implementation of educational standards.

Lastly, the general public ought to quit applauding mediocrity. We require national role models who respect ethics and education. Our society’s health is reflected in the 2025 JAMB results, and if we ignore the warning signs, we run the risk of producing a generation that is ill-equipped to lead the country.