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).

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. Read also: JAMB: Over 75% of UTME candidates scored 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.

How to curb failures in public exams
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In the face of a failure in the 2025 Unified Matriculation Examination (UTME), stakeholders have advocated curriculum reform and sustainable investment in basic education, and technology to improve performance in public examinations. Stanley Alaubi, a senior lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, who spoke with BusinessDay from the United Kingdom, decried the abysmal result, describing it as ‘very poor.’ Alaubi said the solution to such results is tailoring the curriculum to reflect the country’s setting, and embracing competence-based education. "Our curriculum should be changed to reflect our setting. I am in the UK currently for my leave. I see that Britons don’t take higher education seriously. They believe more in industrialisation. Everyone works and earns the minimum wage of £12.21 per hour. Their emphasis is on production," he said. Read also: 2016 till date: Percentage of candidates who scored less than 200 in JAMB/UTME Related News Airtel Africa advances in Airtel Money IPO, sets H1'26 for listing
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"I think Nigeria should tow the Britain line and produce a curriculum that suits our setting in our African society, such that we can promote our local content and empower the people economically." Jessica Osuere, chief executive officer at RubiesHub Education Services, called for sustainable investment in basic education and human capital development of teachers to impact the students with quality learning outcomes. "These poor performances call for urgent and sustained investment in basic education, teacher training, curriculum reform, and equitable access to learning resources. "These results should serve as a wake-up call to policymakers, educators, and stakeholders to address the root causes and ensure that every Nigerian child has a fair chance at quality education and future success," she said. Osuere emphasised that the abysmal result statistics is a reflection of widespread learning gaps, inadequate teaching quality, and systemic underinvestment in education.

She stressed that university education is serious as manpower for national development is built through the system. According to the educationist, the government must invest in technical and entrepreneurship education, noting that those who cannot meet the requirements to go to universities can have other options to explore. Possible reasons for poor results

@Olufunmilayo, reacting to the results statistics on X, said it is a shame that over 75 percent of the students who sat 2025 UTME failed, attributing the outcome of the examination to poor administrative management by JAMB and students’ lackadaisical attitude to education. "You cannot set an exam for 6:30am in the morning, which is an incredibly unsafe and dangerous time, and then express shock when these kids fail. "Don’t get me wrong, JAMB’s time table is not the only reason why many of them failed. Some of those students are possibly lazy and didn’t read. But when you set an exam and over 75 percent fail, that is less of a problem for the students. It’s either you have very bad teachers, or very terrible exam conditions or both," Olufunmilayo noted. The cut-off mark
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Osuere argued that with the abysmal performance in UTME, there may be pressure to lower cut-off marks to accommodate more students. However, she maintained that doing so risks diluting academic standards and undermining the integrity of higher education in Nigeria. Read also: 2025 UTME: Students, parents lament delays, last-minute centre changes frustrations "Remember the UTME is over 400, hence, 200 is just half of the total score. If we begin to lower the cut-off mark below that, what sort of students are we going to be producing? "Our tertiary education is already being questioned around the globe and we can’t keep lowering the bar to accommodate everyone," she noted. Similarly, Alaubi expressed worries that JAMB might be forced to lower the admission bar due to the poor result as obtained in the 2025 UTME.

"With this poor result, students must still be admitted, hence the cut-off mark must drop. Why are the students having poor scores? UTME results should be made to represent the true nature of courses registered for by students," he said. Friday Erhabor, director of media and strategies at Marklenez Limited, sees the 22 percent pass rate as okay, considering that it is equivalent to over 439,000 candidates. Minister’s controversial stance

Tunji Alausa, education minister, sparked controversy on Wednesday when he said the high failure rate in the 2025 UTME showed that the government’s anti-malpractice measures were yielding positive results. "They have implemented strong security measures. As a result, fraud or cheating has been completely eliminated. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for WAEC and NECO," he said on Channels TV. Charles Ogwo & Taofeek Oyedokun Charles Ogwo, Head, Education Desk at BusinessDay Media is a seasoned proactive journalist with over a decade of reportage experience.