JAMB: Over 1.5 Million Candidates Score Below 200 In 2025 UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially published a detailed statistical report for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

This report indicates that over 1.5 million candidates scored below the 200-mark, which is the standard threshold for admission consideration by Nigerian universities.

The analysis of the 1,955,069 results, released on Monday, shows that only 420,415 candidates achieved scores above 200. Notably, a mere 12,414 candidates, representing just 0.63%, scored 300 or higher, categorizing them as high performers.

Among this elite group, only 4,756 candidates scored 320 or above, while 7,658 candidates scored between 300 and 319. Additionally, JAMB’s statement addressed the performance of underage candidates who were allowed to take the exam under special circumstances.

A total of 40,247 underage candidates were given the opportunity to showcase their exceptional skills.

However, only 467 of these candidates, or 1.16%, reached the threshold for exceptional ability as defined for the UTME, with their performance in the following three stages still to be evaluated.

The Board addressed the unique situation of underage candidates in a recent post on 𝕏 (@JAMBHQ), indicating that while they have been given the chance to demonstrate their academic abilities, their results from the following three stages are still pending, implying that additional evaluations are forthcoming before any final decisions are reached.

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Furthermore, JAMB’s report highlighted various issues that affected the 2025 UTME exercise. It was disclosed that 97 candidates were implicated in examination violations, while an additional 2,157 are currently under investigation for suspected misconduct.

Additionally, the Board noted that 71,701 candidates did not attend the examination, although the reasons for their absence were not specified. Biometric verification problems, which have been a recurring issue in past exam cycles, reemerged in 2025.

JAMB stated that candidates experiencing biometric difficulties are being investigated, and those who are cleared will be rescheduled for exams at specific centres. Some results are still pending as of the report, with JAMB confirming that a few results, including those of visually impaired candidates and others in the JEOG group, are still in the processing stage.

The Board has scheduled a press briefing where further clarifications will be made, and candidates will be able to access their results via dedicated portals after the address.

Below is the Breakdown of 2025 UTME Performance. A deeper look into the data reveals concerning trends:
4,756 candidates (0.24%) scored 320 and above
7,658 candidates (0.39%) scored 300–319
73,441 candidates (3.76%) scored 250–299
334,560 candidates (17.11%) scored 200–249
983,187 candidates (50.29%) scored 160–199
488,197 candidates (24.97%) scored 140–159
57,419 candidates (2.94%) scored 120–139
3,820 candidates (0.20%) scored 100–119
2,031 candidates (0.10%) scored below 100

It is worth noting that more than 75% of all candidates scored below 200.

Less than 1% reached the 300+ elite performance range while the largest share of results fell within the 160–199 range, representing over half of the candidates, a trend that may affect admission competitiveness across Nigerian tertiary institutions.