In a press conference held in Abuja on Wednesday, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), through its Registrar Professor Ishaq Oloyede, acknowledged mistakes that negatively impacted the performance of students in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Professor Oloyede expressed regret that errors had marred what should have been a positive experience for candidates.
The UTME, a crucial requirement for gaining admission into Nigerian tertiary institutions, assesses applicants in four subjects, including the mandatory Use of English, alongside three other subjects relevant to their chosen field of study.
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Out of the 1.9 million candidates who participated in the examination, over 1.5 million reportedly scored below 200 out of a possible 400, a result that has generated widespread concern within the education sector.
JAMB reported that of the 1,955,069 processed results, a mere 4,756 candidates (0.24 per cent) achieved scores of 320 and above, considered the highest level of performance.
An additional 7,658 candidates (0.39 per cent) scored between 300 and 319, bringing the total number of candidates scoring 300 or higher to 12,414 (0.63 per cent).
Furthermore, 73,441 candidates (3.76 per cent) scored between 250 and 299, while 334,560 candidates (17.11 per cent) achieved scores between 200 and 249.
A significant 983,187 candidates (50.29 per cent) scored between 160 and 199, a range often considered the minimum requirement for admission by many institutions.
In addition, 488,197 candidates (24.97 per cent) scored between 140 and 159, 57,419 candidates (2.94 per cent) scored between 120 and 139, 3,820 candidates (0.20 per cent) scored between 100 and 119, and 2,031 candidates (0.10 per cent) scored below 100.
Overall, more than 75 per cent of the candidates (1.5 million) scored below 200, which is below the average score given that the examination has a total of 400 marks. Some of the affected candidates have threatened legal action against JAMB.
