Concerns as over 1.5 million UTME candidates score below 200

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Monday released the results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, raising concerns about mass failure as more than 1.5 million out of 1.9 million candidates whose results were released scored below 200.

The UTME is graded over 400, with each candidate assessed in four subjects scored over 100 marks each.

A breakdown of the results released by JAMB on Monday showed that 983,187 candidates (50.29%) scored between 160 and 199, while 488,197 candidates (24.97%) scored between 140 and 159.

Additionally, 57,419 candidates (2.94%) scored between 120 and 139.

In contrast, high performers were significantly fewer. Only 4,756 candidates (0.24%) scored 320 and above, while 7,658 candidates (0.39%) scored between 300 and 319. This brings the total number of candidates who scored 300 and above to 12,414 (0.63%).

A further 73,441 candidates (3.76%) scored between 250 and 299, and 334,560 candidates (17.11%) scored between 200 and 249, the range typically regarded as competitive for many university admissions.

The board also disclosed that of the 40,247 underage candidates who took the exam, only 467 (1.16%) performed well enough to be classified under the “exceptional ability” category. Punch