The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced an improvement in candidates’ performance following the recently concluded Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) resit.
The rescheduled exam was conducted for candidates affected by technical and human errors during the initial testing phase in April.
According to JAMB, the number of candidates who scored 200 and above increased by approximately 200,000 following the resit.
The latest data indicates that 565,988 candidates, representing 29.3% of the 1,931,467 total participants, scored 200 marks and above out of a maximum 400, compared to only 24% in 2024 and 23.36% in 2023.
This improvement follows the Board’s decision to organize a resit for 379,000 candidates across affected centres in Lagos and South-East states.
The resit, which was necessitated by compromised server updates that hindered proper response uploads, has resulted in a recalibration of the national performance statistics.
Prior to the resit, more than 1.5 million candidates had scored below 200 marks. However, with the release of the resit results, the number of sub-200 scores has dropped to 1,365,479, representing 70.7% of candidates—down from 76% in 2024 and 76.64% in 2023.
JAMB noted that the outcome reflects a gradual academic recovery and improved candidate adaptability to the Computer-Based Test (CBT) format, which has been in place since 2013.
The Board attributed the improvement to ongoing reforms aimed at enhancing examination integrity, technical infrastructure and monitoring systems.
Performance in higher score brackets also improved. A total of 117,373 candidates scored 250 and above in 2025, representing 6.08% of candidates. This compares favourably with 4.18% in 2024 and 3.73% in 2023. Additionally, 8,401 candidates scored 300 and above, up from 5,318 in 2023 and 724 in 2021.
The Board confirmed that the final results of all 1,931,467 candidates who sat for the UTME in 2025 have now been released, including 379,775 who participated in the rescheduled sessions and over 41,000 underaged candidates.
However, JAMB clarified that underaged candidates who failed to meet the prescribed standard remain ineligible for admission, in accordance with agreements signed during registration.
JAMB also acknowledged that the situation uncovered several irregularities perpetrated by candidates and certain Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres, which are now under investigation.
The Board stated that it will take appropriate action against any centre found culpable.
“The situation is unfortunate, but it has also exposed a pattern of abuse and malpractice by some school proprietors and CBT operators. We will not allow this to continue unchecked,” the statement read.
While analysts have welcomed the improved performance, concerns remain over the high proportion of candidates still scoring below the average mark of 200.
Education stakeholders have called for renewed investments in curriculum development, ICT infrastructure and candidate preparedness programs to close the performance gap.
The Board is expected to issue further guidance on the 2025 admission process in the coming weeks. Tertiary institutions are anticipated to commence screening and admissions in line with the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS), subject to the minimum score thresholds set by individual institutions.
With the successful conclusion of the 2025 UTME cycle, JAMB has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring fairness, transparency and improved academic outcomes through technology-driven assessments and stakeholder collaboration.
