The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released a comprehensive performance breakdown for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), revealing a significant number of low scores among candidates.

According to official statistics, a total of 1,955,069 candidates sat for the 2025 UTME across Nigeria. Of that number, over 1.5 million candidates scored below 200 — a performance level that has raised concern among stakeholders in the education sector.

Despite the overall low scores, the Board announced that:

• 4,756 candidates scored above 320
• 7,658 candidates scored between 300 and 319

In a statement released alongside the statistics, JAMB highlighted its ongoing efforts to support talented young learners. The Board disclosed that 40,247 underage candidates were granted special permission to take the examination in order to demonstrate exceptional academic potential.

However, it added that only 467 of these underage candidates (1.16%) attained scores that meet the threshold for “exceptional ability” as defined by the Board. JAMB noted that these individuals will still undergo three additional assessment stages before their full results are confirmed.

The Board emphasized its commitment to fairness and academic excellence in Nigeria’s tertiary admission process, while urging students and parents to focus on long-term academic development.