The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially admitted that there were errors during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), confirming growing concerns about the unusually low scores recorded this year.
The Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made this known during a press briefing held in Abuja on Wednesday.
“What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors,” Oloyede stated.
The UTME is a key requirement for admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria, testing students in four subjects including the mandatory Use of English.
This year, 1.9 million candidates sat for the exam. However, more than 1.5 million of them scored below 200 out of a total of 400 marks — a performance that has triggered widespread concern.
According to JAMB’s official statistics:
- 4,756 candidates (0.24%) scored 320 and above
- 7,658 (0.39%) scored between 300 and 319
- 12,414 in total (0.63%) scored above 300
- 73,441 (3.76%) scored between 250 and 299
- 334,560 (17.11%) scored between 200 and 249
- 983,187 (50.29%) scored between 160 and 199 — the minimum benchmark for many institutions
- 488,197 (24.97%) scored between 140 and 159
- 57,419 (2.94%) scored between 120 and 139
- 3,820 (0.20%) scored between 100 and 119
- 2,031 (0.10%) scored below 100
The figures show that over 75% of candidates scored below 200, raising serious questions about the integrity of the exam process.
Several affected students have expressed their frustration and are considering legal action against JAMB. The board’s public acknowledgment of errors could be the first step toward resolving the crisis and restoring public trust.
Content & Social Media Manager planning and publishing educational content, including scholarship updates, career resources and student-focused articles at The Students Forum Nigeria.
