JAMB speaks as candidates, other Nigerians protest low scores

Some candidates who sat the recently released Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME) have rejected their results and called on the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to review them.

The candidates, their families and concerned Nigerians have taken to social media to express concerns over the results.

They insist that the released results do not reflect their actual performance.

Alex Onyia, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Educare, a software solution for schools, has also begun compiling the list of affected candidates in preparation for a lawsuit against the examination board.

But JAMB spokesperson, Fabian Benjamin, maintained that the candidates’ results reflected their performance.

“For us and the system we run, this is a reflection of their performance,” he said in a response to PREMIUM TIMES’ enquiry on Saturday.

“Examination is the only test of ability. Most ‘brilliant’ candidates fail exams at times because of overconfidence.”

2025 UTME

JAMB conducts the annual Computer-Based UTME, which serves as an entrance examination for candidates seeking admission in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

This year, more than 78 per cent of candidates who sat the UTME scored less than 200 points out of the 400 maximum obtainable points. Each candidate takes four subjects, each of which has a maximum of 100 points.

There had been widespread concerns over what many described as a massive failure in this year’s exercise.

However, JAMB registrar, Is-haq Oloyede, a professor, said the results are consistent with the trend over the years. Last year, 76 per cent of candidates who sat the UTME scored less than 200 points.

In 2022, 1.3 million candidates out of 1.7 million –or 78 per cent– who sat the 2022 UTME scored below 200, according to JAMB.

In 2021, only 803 candidates out of 1.3 million –or 0.06 per cent– who sat the 2021 UTME scored above 300, the registrar, Mr Oloyede, said at the time.

Concerns

Candidates have taken to social media using the hashtag #thisisnotmyresult to protest their scores.

One parent, Amuzienwa Uchenna, expressed concern after his ward, Amuzienwa Aguruo, scored 169 in the 2025 UTME.

The parent said the candidate has had impressive scores taking the UTME in the last three years, scoring 236, 271, and 290 in 2022, 2023, and 2024, respectively.

“However, to our greatest shock, his most recent (fourth) result, released in 2025, shows a sudden and inexplicable drop to an aggregate score of 169 out of 400, with the following subject scores: Use of English: 45 Physics: 41 Biology: 39 Chemistry: 44,” Mr Uchenna said.

One social media user, @Pennyfabz, who scored 156 expressed concern, saying she had previously scored 285 in the previous edition of the UTME.

“Dear @JAMBHQ, Something is wrong with my result. I’m very confident that this is not what I’m meant to get. Please look into this matter. I’m seriously comforting myself that everything is okay. Please listen to our plea. I can’t go from 285 to 156 💔,” the candidate posted.

Another post by @quwam001 reads: “Dear @JAMBHQ, Something is seriously wrong with the recently released UTME results. These scores do not reflect the abilities, efforts, or track record of our students.

“Egbaze Victoria scored 295 in last year’s UTME, and now she’s being told she scored 132? And many others.”

Meanwhile, Mr Onyia, the CEO of Educare, has disclosed plans to sue the examination board to request the scoring details of the candidates for verification.

In a post on X, Mr Onyia asked candidates with concerns about their results to fill a form in preparation for the suit.

“If you’re a student concerned that your JAMB score is significantly lower than expected, and you’re confident there’s an error, please fill this form immediately,” he posted.

“We are taking legal steps by Monday at the Federal High Court to compel JAMB to release the marking sheet and scoring details, so students can verify the accuracy of their results.”