JAMB releases detailed statistics showing that almost 1.5 million candidates scored below 200 on the 2025 UTME.

According to a thorough statistical report of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) officially released by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), over 1.5 million applicants received scores below the 200-mark cutoff that is frequently used by Nigerian universities for admission consideration.
Only 420,415 candidates were able to score more than 200 out of the 1,955,069 results that were processed and made public on Monday, according to the breakdown. Even more startling is the fact that only 12,414 applicants, or 0.63%, managed to score 300 or higher, which puts them in the high-performance category.

Only 4,756 of the candidates in this elite category received scores of 320 or higher, while 7,658 others received scores in the 300–319 range.

The performance of minors who were given special consideration to take the test was also noted in the JAMB announcement.

40,247 minors were given the opportunity to showcase their extraordinary skills.

But according to JAMB, just 467 of these applicants (1.16%) received UTME scores that were deemed to be extraordinary, and their results in the next three phases are still pending.

This special category of underage candidates was further addressed in a post by the Board via its official handle on 𝕏 (@JAMBHQ), confirming that while they were granted the opportunity to showcase their academic strengths, “their performance in the subsequent three stages is still pending,” suggesting that further assessments are underway before final judgments can be made.

Aside from performance data, JAMB’s report also underscored other challenges that marred the 2025 UTME exercise.

The Board revealed that “a total of 97 candidates were involved in examination infractions,” while “2,157 others are currently undergoing investigations for suspected malpractices.”

Furthermore, “71,701 candidates were absent,” the Board stated, though reasons for non-attendance were not immediately disclosed.

Biometric verification issues, which have plagued previous exam cycles, also surfaced again in 2025. According to JAMB, “Candidates facing biometric challenges are under investigation, and those who are cleared will be rescheduled for examination at designated centres.”A few of the results, including those of blind candidates and others in the JEOG group, are still being processed, according to JAMB, which confirmed that some categories of results were still pending as of the time of the report. The Board has planned a press briefing where additional clarifications will be provided, and following the address, candidates will be able to access their results through specific portals.

Breakdown of 2025 UTME Performance

A deeper look into the data reveals concerning trends:

4,756 candidates (0.24%) scored 320 and above
7,658 candidates (0.39%) scored 300–319
73,441 candidates (3.76%) scored 250–299
334,560 candidates (17.11%) scored 200–249
983,187 candidates (50.29%) scored 160–199
488,197 candidates (24.97%) scored 140–159
57,419 candidates (2.94%) scored 120–139
3,820 candidates (0.20%) scored 100–119
2,031 candidates (0.10%) scored below 100

Key Insights:

More than 75% of all candidates scored below 200.
Less than 1% reached the 300+ elite performance range.
The largest share of results fell within the 160–199 range, representing over half of the candidates, a trend that may affect admission competitiveness across Nigerian tertiary institutions.