By IDNN Education Desk
Published: May 9, 2025
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results, revealing yet another year of widespread poor performance, with over 75% of candidates scoring below 200 out of 400.
The announcement, made in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Friday, confirms that of the 2 million+ candidates who registered, over 1.94 million eventually sat for the computer-based exam, conducted between April 24 and May 5.
Sharp Performance Drop Continues
A statistical breakdown from JAMB reveals that:
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78% of candidates scored less than 200 marks
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Only 0.63% (12,421 candidates) scored 300 and above
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24,535 candidates scored less than 100 marks
“This is not peculiar to this year. The performance statistics are consistent with those of the last 12 years,” said JAMB Registrar, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede.
He argued that the trend points to deeper systemic issues in the nation’s education sector and not merely to candidate laziness or exam difficulty.
How to Check Results
Candidates can now check their results by sending “RESULT” followed by their registration number via SMS to either 55019 or 66019 using the same phone number used for registration.
The board warned that result access is strictly linked to registered numbers to prevent impersonation and examination fraud.
Underage Candidates and Exceptional Performance
JAMB also disclosed that 40,247 underage candidates were allowed to sit the exam under a special exemption. However, only 467 of them (1.16%) scored marks that met the board’s “exceptional ability” threshold.
“These candidates will still undergo three additional stages of screening to determine their overall suitability,” JAMB stated.
Absenteeism and Exam Malpractice
The board reported that:
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71,701 candidates failed to appear for the exams
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2,185 candidates are under investigation for infractions
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97 candidates have already been confirmed guilty of malpractice
Stakeholders React
The 2025 performance has sparked heated debate across education and policy circles. Critics blame the deteriorating quality of secondary education, lack of early academic support, and socioeconomic stressors affecting learning.
Others argue that the UTME itself needs structural reform, including revalidation of the scoring model, exam time allocation, and clearer syllabus alignment with secondary school curricula.
What’s Next for Candidates?
JAMB says candidates who meet institutional cut-off marks will now proceed to the post-UTME/admission screening phase, where individual universities, polytechnics, and colleges will begin issuing offers.
The board urged candidates to stay informed through official channels and avoid scammers offering “guaranteed admission” or result upgrades.