Over 1.5 Million Candidates Score Below 200 in 2025 JAMB UTME

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), revealing a concerning decline in performance across the board.

Of the 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the examination, only 420,415 (21.5%) scored above 200, the usual benchmark for competitive university admissions in Nigeria.

Over 1.5 million candidates (approximately 78%) scored below the 200 mark, sparking renewed concerns over the state of secondary education, exam preparedness, and access to digital tools.

2025 UTME Score Breakdown

Score Range	No. of Candidates	% of Total
300 and above	12,414	0.63%
250–299	73,441	3.75%
200–249	334,560	17.1%
160–199	983,187	50.3%
140–159	488,197	24.97%
120–139	57,419	2.94%
100–119	3,820	0.20%

Why the Mass Failure?

According to Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, the decline is largely due to stricter anti-malpractice protocols put in place by JAMB this year.

“What we are seeing is a true reflection of ability. In the past, rampant cheating inflated scores. This year’s measures have raised the bar for fairness,”
– Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education

The measures included:

Enhanced biometric verification
Increased surveillance at CBT centres
Real-time data tracking
Immediate disqualification for irregular activity

Other Key Findings

Underage candidates struggle: Only 467 of the 40,247 underage candidates met the minimum benchmark for top-tier academic ability (approx. 1.16%).
Over 2,000 candidates under investigation: JAMB is probing 2,157 students for suspected exam infractions.
High absenteeism: 71,701 registered candidates failed to show up for the exam.

How 2025 Compares to Previous Years

In 2024, about 24% of candidates scored above 200, compared to 21.5% in 2025 — a decline that some analysts say reflects not only better fraud control but also a widening learning gap.

Meanwhile, the percentage of top scorers (300+) increased slightly from 0.5% in 2024 to 0.63% in 2025, suggesting that only a very small fraction of students are adequately prepared to excel.

The 2025 JAMB results provide a gloomy picture of Nigeria’s secondary school system. While the battle against malpractice is admirable, the focus should now move to enhancing student learning results, teacher effectiveness, and school infrastructure.