A staggering 1.5 million candidates scored below 200 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), out of the 1,955,069 who sat for the exam. This reveals a concerning trend in the performance of candidates in the examination.
According to the statistical breakdown released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) on Monday, only 420,415 candidates managed to score above 200 in the 2025 UTME. This highlights the large proportion of candidates who struggled to meet the minimum threshold for competitive tertiary education.
Among the few who excelled, 4,756 candidates scored above 320, with 7,658 candidates securing scores between 300 and 319, showing a stark contrast to the majority who scored poorly.
In a statement accompanying the results, JAMB also disclosed that 40,247 underage candidates were allowed to demonstrate their abilities. However, only 467 of these candidates (1.16%) met the benchmark for exceptional performance, with their subsequent performance across the next stages yet to be determined.
