The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has made it known that over 1.5 million candidates scored below 200 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). This is a significant proportion of the total 1.94 million students who sat for the examination this year.
Speaking at the board’s policy meeting in Abuja, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, bemoaned the poor performance. He noted that only 0.4% of candidates scored 300 and above, while 24% scored 200 and above. The remaining majority scored below 200, which is a cause for concern on secondary education quality and examination preparedness.
A glance at past performances shows that this trend has been in the making. In 2021, JAMB clarified that only 0.06% of candidates scored 300 and above. In 2023, the board reported some improvement but concerns regarding the high number of candidates scoring below the cut-off point for admission remained.
Oloyede stressed that the outcome this year highlights the need to change the approach to teaching and examination preparatory methods. To him, the board’s examination process remains transparent, and the results reflected the true abilities of the candidates.
He debunked claims that the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode is the cause of the poor performance. Instead, he laid the decline in performance to poor academic foundation, lack of reading culture, and too much reliance on social media distractions.
Some of the stakeholders at the policy meeting supported the introduction of national remedial programs that would help students enhance their basic skills before sitting for the UTME. Others proposed that schools and parents take more responsibility for the enhanced preparation of candidates.
The Registrar also noted that the board has put in place several measures to ensure integrity in the conduct of the UTME, including the deployment of CCTV cameras, biometric capturing, and increased security around centres. He re-emphasized JAMB’s resolve to ensure a level playing field for all candidates.
The cut-off mark for universities was also set at a minimum of 140 at the policy meeting, while polytechnics and colleges of education will accept 100 and above. Institutions can, however, set higher thresholds.
Stakeholders in the education sector and civil society groups are reacting strongly to the figures. Many are calling for a renewed focus on literacy and numeracy skills development at the secondary school level as a means of addressing the issue at its source.
As the debate continues, parents, students, and teachers are left to ponder what this year’s UTME results actually reflect about the state of Nigeria’s education sector.
