Updated: 70% scored below 200 in UTME, after resit – JAMB

Updated: 70% scored below 200 in UTME, after resit – JAMB

 

About 70 per cent of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates scored below 200 of the total 400 mark, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said.

JAMB disclosed this as part of the details of its just released results of the recently conducted 2025 UTME resit examination.

The resit was for candidates at centres affected by technical glitches.

In the resit UTME results released on Sunday, JAMB stated that 1,365,479 (70.7 per cent) out of 1.9 million candidates — scored below 200 after both the original exam and the resit results were put together.

In the original results released by JAMB on May 9, 2025, over 1.5 million candidates out of 1.9 million candidates who took the exam had scored below 200 out of the total 400 marks, raising concerns in the country, according to a Punch report on Monday.

JAMB indicated that after the resit UTME, the number of candidates who scored below 200 marks shrank from over 1.5 million to 1,365,479, indicating that about 200,000 more candidates crossed the average score.

The board, in a statement by its Public Communication Advisor, Fabian Benjamin, on Sunday, said, “Of the 336,845, who were eventually scheduled after isolated good sessions of the affected centres were excluded and their previously unverified candidates were added, 21,082 were absent.”

However, JAMB again, extended an olive branch to the absentee candidates by offering them opportunity to participate during the normal annual mop-up examination yet to be scheduled.

It said, “This waiver is also extended to the candidates who for whatever reason must have missed the initial main UTME.

“Despite the ongoing inquiries, performance analysis remains consistent (between 11 per cent in 2013 and 34 per cent in 2016) with results from the past 12 years.

“While this situation is unfortunate, it has also revealed numerous alarming practices perpetrated by candidates, certain proprietors of schools/Computer-Based Test, CBT, centres, which have exacerbated examination irregularities.”

The release of the results came after JAMB convened a meeting of its chief external examiners, CEEs, in all states of the federation to consider the results.

It further explained that after consideration of the report of the resit examination, and extensive deliberations thereon, a sub-committee, chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University, Prof. Olufemi Peters, who is also the CEE FCT, was constituted.

This, it said, was to confirm that the results were in order.

It added the CEEs reviewed the exercise and directed that an expert in psychometrics, Prof. Boniface Nworgu, be invited to analyse and endorse the results for subsequent release.

The board said further, “As part of the healing process, the meeting also resolved that the withheld results of the under-aged candidates (except where litigation is involved) who performed below the established standards be released.

“Such result does not, however, qualify them for admission, as they had previously signed an undertaking during the registration process acknowledging that only those who meet the prescribed standards would be considered for under-aged special admission.’’

Another important resolution taken during the meeting, according to the board, was the release of results of candidates involved in “WhatsApp Runs” and other misdemeanours

It said, “This category of candidates were found to have been involved in illicit solicitation of assistance. The meeting emphasised that its decision is not an endorsement of candidates’ unacceptable acts, rather a once and for all waiver.

“Candidates were thus advised to refrain from joining questionable “WhatsApp and other anti-social groups.”