Following a resit examination, over 200,000 additional candidates in Nigeria’s UTME have now scored above 200, after initial technical glitches led to widespread low results, as JAMB releases updated figures
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that over 200,000 additional candidates successfully crossed the 200-mark average in the Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME) following a recent resit examination.
Also read: JAMB announces mop-up UTME for over 5.6% absent candidates
The resit was organised to address technical and human errors that had compromised the original examination results.
In the resit UTME results released on Sunday, JAMB confirmed that the total number of candidates scoring below 200 marks after both the original and resit examinations has now shrunk from over 1.5 million to 1,365,479.
This means that approximately 200,000 more candidates achieved scores of 200 and above, bringing the total in this category to 565,988.
Previously, concerns had mounted across the country when the initial results released on May 9, 2025, showed over 1.5 million out of 1.9 million candidates scored below 200 out of a total of 400 marks.
Following sustained pressure, JAMB investigated and attributed the mass failure to technical glitches and human errors within its system, particularly faulty server updates that hindered the proper upload of candidate responses during the first three days of the examination.
Consequently, JAMB announced a resit examination for 379,000 affected candidates, primarily in Lagos and the South-East states.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has released the results of the recently conducted 2025 UTME resit examination for candidates at centres impacted by the unfortunate incident.
The newly released results reflect a notable improvement in performance compared to previous years since the adoption of the Computer-Based Test (CBT) format in 2013.
According to JAMB, a total of 1,931,467 results have been released for 2025, representing 100 per cent of candidates who sat the examination.
figure surpasses the 1,842,364 results released in 2024, indicating a steady increase in UTME participation.
A breakdown of higher scores also shows positive trends:
300 and above: 8,401 candidates (0.46%) in 2024 and 5,318 (0.35%) in 2023. Figures for 2025 were not explicitly stated but are expected to be higher.
250 and above: 117,373 candidates (6.08%) in 2025, an increase from 77,070 (4.18%) in 2024 and 56,736 (3.73%) in 2023.
200 and above: 565,988 candidates (29.3%) in 2025, up from 439,961 (24%) in 2024 and 355,689 (23.36%) in 2023.
Despite these improvements, the majority of candidates—1,365,479 (70.7%)—still scored below 200 in 2025, though this represents a slight decrease from 76% in 2024 and 76.64% in 2023.
JAMB reiterated that the withheld results of underage candidates, except where litigation is involved, who performed below established standards would also be released.
However, such results do not qualify them for admission, as they had previously signed an undertaking acknowledging that only those meeting prescribed standards would be considered for “under-aged special admission.”
The Board stated that while the situation was unfortunate, it also “revealed numerous alarming practices perpetrated by candidates, certain Proprietors of Schools/Computer-Based Test centres, which have exacerbated examination irregularities.”
Also read: JAMB registrar Prof. Ishaq Oloyede rejects bias allegations amidst UTME controversy
JAMB is expected to issue further statements on the implications of this year’s results for the tertiary admissions process.
Peculiar Adirika is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering news, business, and public affairs.
