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2025 UTME Records Nigeria’s 3rd-Worst Performance Since 2016 — What Went Wrong?

Experts advise the FG to spend money on IT and teacher training.

Nigeria’s 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidate performance is the third-worst since 2016.

According to BusinessDay, 87.2 percent of the candidates scored below the 200 level in 2021, which was the poorest result over the previous ten years. In 2021, over 1.14 million applicants received scores lower than 200 (out of 400).

The second-worst performance happened in 2020, when 1.54 million students, or 79.2 percent of the total, received scores below 200 on the UTME exam.

According to the statistical analysis of the 2025 UTME published a few days ago by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), 78.5 percent of applicants had below-average scores (200 out of 400).

Public outrage and demands for immediate reforms and significant investment in Nigeria’s education sector have been rekindled by the appalling results.

Concern regarding candidates’ UTME performance has grown for more than ten years. The majority of applicants receive scores below 200 out of 400, according to a study of official JAMB statistics.

1.59 million applicants, or 64.24 percent of the total, received scores below 200 in 2016.

73 percent of candidates, or 1.72 million people, scored lower than 200 in 2017.

74.1 percent of the candidates, or 1.19 million, received scores below 200 in the subsequent year.

In 2019, 1.40 million candidates, or 77 percent of the total, received scores lower than 200.

1.17 million participants, or 76.7 percent, received scores below 200 in 2023, whereas 1.33 million candidates, or 77.8 percent of the total, scored below 200 in 2022.

1.40 million applicants, or 76.1 percent of the total, received scores below 200 in 2024.

1.53 million candidates, or 78.5 percent, received scores below 200 this year.

How to reduce exam failures in public

To enhance performance in public exams, stakeholders have called for curriculum reform and long-term investments in basic education, teacher training, and technology in the wake of the 2025 Unified Matriculation Examination (UTME) debacle.

Speaking to BusinessDay from the UK, Stanley Alaubi, a senior lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, criticized the dismal outcome, calling it “very poor.”

According to Alaubi, adopting competence-based education and modifying the curriculum to fit the national context are the answers to such outcomes.

“We should modify our curriculum to better suit our environment. I’m now on leave in the UK. Higher education is not taken seriously by Britons, I notice.

They have a stronger belief in industrialization. Everyone works and receives £12.21 per hour, which is the minimum wage. “Production is their main focus,” he stated.

“To promote our local content and give the people economic power, I believe Nigeria should follow Britain’s lead and create a curriculum that fits our context in African society.”

To influence kids with high-quality learning results, Jessica Osuere, CEO of RubiesHub Education Services, advocated for long-term investments in fundamental education and teacher human capital development.

These subpar results highlight the need for immediate and ongoing funding for curriculum reform, teacher preparation, basic education, and fair access to educational materials.

Osuere emphasized that the abysmal result statistics are a reflection of widespread learning gaps, inadequate teaching quality, and systemic underinvestment in education.

She stressed that university education is serious, as manpower for national development is built through the system. According to the educationist, the government must invest in technical and entrepreneurship education, noting that those who cannot meet the requirements to go to universities can have other options to explore.

Potential causes of subpar outcomes
In response to the results figures on X, @Olufunmilayo stated that it is unfortunate that more than 75% of the students who took the 2025 UTME failed. He attributed the exam’s outcomes to JAMB’s inadequate administrative oversight and the students’ disinterest in learning.

“You cannot give an exam at 6:30 a.m., which is a really risky and dangerous hour, and then act shocked when these children don’t pass.

“Don’t get me wrong, many of them failed for reasons other than JAMB’s schedule. It’s possible that some of those kids were lazy and didn’t read. However, pupils have less of an issue when an exam is given and more than 75% of them fail. Olufunmilayo observed, “You either have awful teachers, really awful exam conditions, or both.”

The cut-off mark

Osuere contended that there might be pressure to decrease the cut-off marks in order to accommodate more students, given the appalling performance in the UTME.

She insisted, however, that doing so runs the risk of weakening academic standards and compromising the integrity of Nigerian higher education.

“Remember that 200 is only half of the final score because the UTME is beyond 400. What kind of pupils will we be creating if we start lowering the cut-off point below that?

She said, “We can’t keep lowering the bar to accommodate everyone because our tertiary education is already being questioned around the world.”

Alaubi also voiced concerns that JAMB might have to lower the admissions requirement as a result of the 2025 UTME’s subpar results.

“The cut-off mark must be lowered since students must still be admitted despite their subpar performance. What is causing the children’s low test scores? According to him, UTME results ought to accurately reflect the kind of courses that students have enrolled in.

Friday Erhabor, Marklenez Limited’s director of publicity and strategies, believes that the 22 percent pass percentage is acceptable because it represents more than 439,000 candidates.

The contentious position of the minister

The education minister, Tunji Alausa, caused a stir on Wednesday when he claimed that the high failure rate in the 2025 UTME demonstrated the effectiveness of the government’s anti-malpractice initiatives.

“They have put in place robust security measures. Consequently, there is no longer any fraud or cheating. On Channels TV, he stated, “Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for WAEC and NECO.”