In the last 13 years, the just concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) has recorded the best performance so far, based on results released by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) yesterday.
The 2025 UTME had the highest number of candidates who scored 300 and above with 17,025 representing 0.88% of 1,931,467 candidates who sat for the exams.
While 8,401 candidates out of 1,842,364 candidates who sat for the exams in 2024 scored 300 above representing 0.46%, the third highest performance was recorded in 2022 with 5,833 candidates out of 1,713,252 candidates representing 0.34% scoring 300 and above.
This year also witnessed the highest number of candidates who scored 250 above with 117,373 representing 29.3% followed by 2024 with 77,070 representing 4.18% with 2022 recording the best year since 2013 with 65,336 candidates representing 3.8% According to figures, 565,988 candidates scored 200 and above in the 2025 UTME representing 29.3%.
Although it is slightly below the 2016 result where 568, 847 candidates out of 1,660,158 representing 34% scored 200 and above, the number of candidates who sat for the UTME in 2025 surpassed the number who sat for the examination in 2016 with 271, 309 candidates.
While the results released by the Board have also shown that 1,365,47 candidates scored below 200 in the 2025 UTME, within the last 13 years the number of candidates who scored 200 and below has been hovering between 1.3 to 1.4 million.
A statement signed by Public Communication Advisor, JAMB, Dr. Fabian Benjamin, noted that over 315,000 candidates who experienced glitches in the initial examination took the resit, after JAMB admitted it was responsible for the errors.
According to him, of the 336,845 candidates, who were eventually scheduled after isolated good sessions of the affected centres were excluded and their previously unverified candidates were added, 21,082 were absent.
The statement partly read: “It would be recalled that after the conduct of the resit examination, a meeting of the Board’s Chief External Examiners (CEEs) in all states of the federation was held to consider the results. In attendance at the meeting were a few notables.
“After consideration of the report of the resit examination, and extensive deliberations thereon, a sub-committee, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University, Prof. Olufemi Peters, who is also the CEE FCT, was constituted to confirm that the results are in order.
“The CEEs reviewed the exercise and directed that an expert in psychometrics, Prof. Boniface Nworgu, be invited to analyse and endorse the results for subsequent release “As part of the healing process, the meeting resolved that the withheld results of under-age candidates (except where litigation is involved), who performed below the established standards, be released.
“Such result does not, however, qualify them for admission, as they had previously signed an undertaking during the registration process acknowledging that only those who meet the prescribed standards would be considered for under-age special admission.
“While noting the over 93% attendance at the resit examination, the meeting offered all the candidates absent an opportunity to participate during the normal annual mop-up examination.
This waiver is also extended to the candidates who for whatever reason must have missed the initial main UTME. “The Board, however, revealed numerous alarming practices perpetrated by candidates, certain proprietors of schools/ Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, which have exacerbated examination irregularities
“The meeting condemned the involvement of some CBT centres in perpetrating serious registration and examination malpractices and resolved that all the implicated CBT centres should be blacklisted, while complicit owners should be prosecuted.
In addition, the identified individuals, who directly registered the candidates with modified pictures and biometrics be apprehended and prosecuted.”
