UTME 2025: Over 200,000 More Candidates Score 200 and Above After JAMB Resit — A Positive Shift Amid Initial Controversy
In a significant turnaround for Nigeria’s education sector, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced that more than 200,000 additional candidates have surpassed the 200 score mark in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) following a rescheduled exam. This improvement comes after widespread technical and human errors marred the original UTME, triggering national outcry and raising questions about the integrity of the examination process.
The results of the UTME resit were made public on Sunday, May 25, with JAMB stating that the newly updated performance data reflected substantial improvements in candidate outcomes. This update is a welcome relief for many students and parents who had earlier been devastated by what appeared to be a massive national failure.
“The improved outcome is among the best recorded since the introduction of the Computer Based Test (CBT) format in 2013,” JAMB stated.
What Prompted the UTME Resit?
The 2025 UTME initially faced widespread criticism after the first batch of results, released on May 9, 2025, revealed that more than 1.5 million candidates scored below 200 out of a total of about 1.9 million candidates. This staggering figure triggered public outrage, with many Nigerians—students, educators, and parents—calling for an investigation into the process.
In response to the backlash, JAMB conducted an internal investigation, which revealed a number of systemic irregularities, including technical malfunctions at exam centers and human errors. These issues were particularly concentrated in Lagos State and parts of the South East.
To address these problems, JAMB took the bold step of organizing a resit for 379,000 affected candidates, mostly from the regions where irregularities had been most severe. This resit provided an opportunity for students who had been unfairly impacted by the glitches to retake the exam under more standardized and error-free conditions.
Improved Performance After Resit
Following the resit, JAMB reported that approximately 200,000 more candidates were now able to score 200 and above in the UTME—a threshold often seen as the minimum competitive score for university admissions in Nigeria. This represents a marked improvement over the earlier results and indicates that many of the affected candidates had indeed been disadvantaged during the first round of testing.
According to the updated statistics:
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1,365,479 candidates, representing 70.7 per cent of the total, still scored below 200, but this is a drop from the over 1.5 million candidates who fell below the same benchmark before the resit.
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565,988 candidates, or 29.3 per cent, scored 200 and above, which is a significant jump from 439,961 (24%) in 2024 and 355,689 (23.36%) in 2023.
Although the majority still scored below 200, the pass rate has clearly improved, highlighting the importance and necessity of the resit. JAMB’s transparency and prompt action also serve as a precedent for how examination bodies should respond to operational failures.
Historical Performance Trends in UTME
A review of past UTME data shows just how fluctuating candidate performance has been over the years:
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In 2021, only 168,650 candidates (13%) scored 200 and above.
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In contrast, 2016 recorded 568,847 candidates (34%) who hit the 200+ benchmark.
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The 2025 figure of 565,988 candidates represents a return to stronger performance, and it mirrors the peak recorded in 2016.
When considering high-achieving students, this year also saw an increase:
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117,373 candidates scored 250 and above in 2025 (6.08% of the total), compared to:
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77,070 (4.18%) in 2024
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56,736 (3.73%) in 2023
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For the elite 300+ score range, 8,401 candidates (0.46%) achieved this in 2025, compared to:
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5,318 (0.35%) in 2023
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724 (0.06%) in 2021
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It’s worth noting that in 2013 and 2014, no candidates scored above 300, indicating how much things have changed in the CBT era.
How Many Students Wrote the 2025 UTME?
This year, 1,931,467 UTME results were officially released, reflecting an increase from the 1,842,364 candidates who sat for the exam in 2024. The rising participation shows that more Nigerian youths are seeking tertiary education, despite the challenges in the educational system.
This growing number also underscores the importance of maintaining fairness, accuracy, and technological stability in the exam process. With more students participating each year, any technical hiccups can have massive consequences on thousands of lives.
JAMB’s Commitment to Reform and Digital Integrity
The improvement in results is partly attributed to JAMB’s continued reforms and the increased familiarity of candidates with the Computer-Based Test (CBT) format, which was introduced in 2013. Over the years, both the board and students have had to adapt to the digital testing environment, and this year’s improved results suggest that these efforts are starting to pay off.
JAMB has reiterated its commitment to improving the examination process, promising that more reforms will be introduced to ensure that all candidates have a fair chance regardless of location or technical constraints.
What’s Next for 2025/2026 Admissions?
With the updated UTME results now released, all eyes are on how these scores will influence the 2025/2026 university and tertiary admissions cycle. JAMB is expected to provide further clarification in the coming weeks regarding cut-off marks, admission quotas, and how schools should treat candidates who sat for the resit.
Education stakeholders, including universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, will be using the updated performance statistics to guide their admission policies and departmental cut-off decisions.
Conclusion: A Lesson in Accountability and Improvement
The 2025 UTME cycle has been a rollercoaster of challenges and solutions. What began as a national concern over poor performance has now turned into a case study in institutional accountability, swift reform, and the resilience of Nigerian students.
JAMB’s ability to acknowledge its mistakes, organize a resit, and transparently release updated performance data has been commendable. It shows that Nigeria's institutions can still function with integrity when pushed by the voice of the people.
While the results still show that a majority of candidates scored below 200, the resit offered a second chance to many deserving students, and the performance improvement may be a sign of better days ahead for Nigeria’s education system.
“The improved outcome is among the best recorded since the introduction of the Computer Based Test (CBT) format in 2013,” JAMB rightly noted.
As candidates and their families await the next phase of the admission process, one thing is clear: transparency, technology, and timely reforms are the key ingredients for restoring trust in Nigeria’s examination system.
