Out of the total 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), more than 1.5 million scored below 200 marks, indicating a significant drop in performance this year.
According to a statistical report released on Monday by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), only 420,415 candidates were able to score above 200 in the 2025 UTME. This represents just 25% of the entire candidates, meaning that approximately 75% of the candidates scored below 200. Even more striking, less than 1% of the candidates scored above 300.
In a statement accompanying the data, JAMB disclosed that a total of 40,247 underage candidates were granted special permission to take the UTME in order to showcase their exceptional talents. However, only 467 of them—about 1.16%—met the benchmark considered as a demonstration of exceptional ability. These underage candidates are still expected to undergo three additional evaluation stages to complete their assessment.
On matters of examination conduct, JAMB revealed that 97 candidates were confirmed to have committed various examination infractions. In addition, 2,157 candidates are currently being investigated for suspected examination malpractices.
The board also noted that 71,701 candidates did not show up for the examination. Meanwhile, a number of candidates are facing issues related to biometric verification. These cases are under review, and candidates who are eventually cleared will be rescheduled to take the exam at assigned centres.
Furthermore, JAMB stated that a few results are still being processed. These include those of visually impaired (blind) candidates and those grouped under the JEOG category.
To provide further clarity and assist candidates in accessing their results, JAMB announced that it will hold a press conference later this week. During the briefing, the board is expected to announce the official release of individual results and guide candidates on how to check their scores.
