The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has revealed that just 467 out of the 40,247 underage candidates who took part in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) demonstrated exceptional academic ability, representing a mere 1.16% of the group.
This announcement came via JAMB’s official handle on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, as part of a broader statistical release detailing performance outcomes from the 1,955,069 candidates whose results have been processed so far.
While the examination body acknowledged the intellectual promise of these underage candidates, it clarified that their full evaluation is not yet complete. “Their performance in the subsequent three stages is still pending,” JAMB stated, indicating that the selection process for outstanding young candidates remains ongoing.
In a concerning development, the Board also reported rising incidents of misconduct and non-compliance among candidates. A total of 97 candidates were caught in exam malpractices, while 2,157 others are currently under investigation for suspected infractions. Additionally, 71,701 candidates failed to show up for the examination, although JAMB did not specify the reasons behind this large-scale absenteeism.
JAMB also addressed persistent biometric verification issues, which have plagued recent examination cycles. It noted that affected candidates are under investigation, and those cleared will be rescheduled for the exam at designated centres.
Meanwhile, the results of some candidate categories, including blind candidates and those under the JEOG group, remain under processing, with more details to be shared at an upcoming press conference. The Board is expected to announce the availability of result-checking portals during that briefing.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, had in February introduced the “Exceptionally Brilliant Window,” a policy allowing under-16 candidates to sit for the UTME, provided they exhibit outstanding academic ability.
A deeper dive into the released data paints a broader picture of national academic performance in the 2025 UTME. Only 12,414 candidates (0.63%) scored 300 and above, placing them in the elite category. Of this group, 4,756 candidates scored 320 and above, while 7,658 fell within the 300–319 range.
In more competitive brackets, 73,441 candidates (3.76%) scored between 250–299, and 334,560 (17.11%) scored between 200–249. However, over 75% of the test-takers scored below 200, a common threshold for admission into many Nigerian universities.
The largest cohort—983,187 candidates (50.29%)—scored between 160–199, while 488,197 (24.97%) scored between 140–159. Only 2,031 candidates scored below 100.
JAMB’s latest figures underscore both the continued challenges in the country’s education sector and the urgent need to address systemic issues such as exam malpractice, biometric verification failures, and low overall performance levels.
