…Experts Want Nigerian Govt to Invest in Teachers’ Training, IT
The performance of candidates in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) is Nigeria’s third-worst since 2016.
BusinessDay findings show that the worst performance over the 10-year period occurred in 2021 when 87.2 percent of the candidates scored below 200 mark. About 1.14 million candidates obtained scores below 200 (out of 400) in 2021.
The second worst performance occurred in 2020 when 79.2 percent of the candidates for the UTME exam that year, representing 1.54 million, obtained scores below 200.
A few days ago, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) released the statistical analysis of the 2025 UTME, showing that 78.5 percent of candidates scored below average (200 out of 400).
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The woeful performance has renewed public outcry and calls for urgent reforms and aggressive investment in Nigeria’s education sector.
For over a decade, the performance of candidates in UTME has been a growing concern. An analysis of official data from JAMB shows a consistent pattern: Most candidates score below 200 out of the total 400 marks.
In 2016, 1.59 million candidates scored below 200, representing 64.24 percent of the total.
In 2017, 1.72 million candidates, representing 73 percent, received scores below 200.
In the following year, 1.19 million candidates, representing 74.1 percent of the total, got scores below 200.
In 2019, 77 percent of the candidates, representing 1.40 million of the total participants, scored below 200.
In 2022, 1.33 million candidates, equivalent to 77.8 percent of the total, scored below 200, with 1.17 million participants, representing a 76.7 percent, receiving scores below 200 in 2023.
In 2024, 1.40 million candidates, equivalent to 76.1 percent of the total, got marks below 200
This year, 78.5 percent of the candidates, representing 1.53 million, scored below 200.
