The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed that the results of individual candidates who sat for the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) will be released on Friday, May 9, 2025.
This confirmation was made to Nairametrics by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, Public Communication Advisor at JAMB, stating that candidates who sat for this year’s examination can begin checking their results from Friday.
Out of the over 1.95 million registered candidates nationwide, only 21.5% scored above 200, according to performance data released by the Board.
Reacting to this outcome, stakeholders in the education sector have expressed concerns over the low performance rate, calling for urgent reforms in teaching standards and curriculum delivery across secondary schools.
Earlier this week, in the Statistical Analysis of 2025 UTME Result released by the Board, JAMB explained that the delay in the release of individual results was due to ongoing evaluation processes, particularly for blind candidates and those under the JAMB Equal Opportunity Group (JEOG).
“Furthermore, few of the results, including those of blind candidates and others in the JEOG candidates group, are still being processed.
A press conference to announce the individual results of candidates and to facilitate result checking will be held later this week,” the Board noted.
Reactions trail poor UTME results
Former presidential candidate and Labour Party leader, Peter Obi, has raised serious concerns over the quality of Nigeria’s education system following the release of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results.
In a statement posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Obi described the performance as “a reflection of the deep-rooted challenges in our educational system.”
He attributed the poor outcomes to long-term neglect and underfunding in Nigeria’s education sector.
“The latest JAMB results once again highlight the consequences of decades of underinvestment in education, a sector that should be central to our national development strategy,” he said.
JAMB responds to concerns
Meanwhile, the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has clarified that the 2025 UTME performance is consistent with historical patterns over the last 12 years.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Oloyede said approximately 1.5 million out of the 1.9 million candidates scored below 200, noting that this trend is not out of the ordinary.
“This is not peculiar to this year. The performance statistics are consistent with those of the last 12 years,” he stated.
He also explained that while the overall performance data has been released, individual results are still under review.
“We have not released the individual results yet, but we have published the overall statistics because that part of the process has been completed,” he said.
“We are currently reviewing the cases of some candidates with borderline issues to determine whether their results should be released or withheld. Once that is concluded, the individual results will be released.”
Minister of Education defends the failure rate
Commenting on the national concerns, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, argued that the high failure rate in the 2025 UTME reflects the effectiveness of the government’s anti-malpractice initiatives.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Tuesday, Alausa said the drop in performance shows that JAMB’s security measures are working.
“That’s a big concern, and it’s a reflection of exams being done the proper way,” the minister noted.
“JAMB conducts its exam using a computer-based testing system. They’ve implemented strong security measures, and as a result, fraud or cheating has been completely eliminated. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for WAEC and NECO,” he stated.
What you should know
From the total of 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the exam, the data showed that a significant majority scored below 200.
- 4,756 candidates (0.24%) scored 320 and above
- 7,658 (0.39%) scored between 300–319
- 73,441 (3.76%) scored between 250–299
- 334,560 (17.11%) scored between 200–249
- 983,187 (50.29%) scored between 160–199
- 488,197 (24.97%) scored between 140–159