The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has officially acknowledged errors in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which may have impacted candidates’ performance.
JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made the disclosure on Wednesday during a press conference in Abuja.
“What should have been a moment of joy has changed due to one or two errors,” Oloyede admitted, without elaborating on the specific nature of the issues.
The UTME, a key requirement for entry into Nigerian tertiary institutions, assesses candidates in four subjects, including the mandatory Use of English and three others relevant to their intended course of study.
This year, out of the 1.9 million candidates who sat the exam, more than 1.5 million scored below 200 marks out of a possible 400—a trend that has raised alarm among parents, educators, and stakeholders.
JAMB reported that 1,955,069 results were processed. However, only 4,756 candidates (0.24%) scored 320 and above, while 7,658 candidates (0.39%) scored between 300 and 319. In total, just 12,414 candidates (0.63%) scored above 300.
Furthermore, 73,441 candidates (3.76%) scored between 250 and 299, and 334,560 candidates (17.11%) scored between 200 and 249. The majority, 983,187 candidates (50.29%), fell within the 160–199 range, which many institutions use as the minimum admission threshold.
Another 488,197 candidates (24.97%) scored between 140 and 159, 57,419 (2.94%) scored between 120 and 139, while 3,820 (0.20%) scored between 100 and 119. Alarmingly, 2,031 candidates (0.10%) scored below 100.
In response to the unprecedented low scores, some affected candidates have expressed their intention to take legal action against the examination board.
The press briefing marks the first time JAMB has publicly admitted to internal errors influencing results, as scrutiny over the integrity and fairness of the 2025 UTME continues to grow.
