JAMB Resit Lifts 200,000 More Candidates Above Average Score in 2025 UTME

After a turbulent start to the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), thousands of Nigerian candidates finally have a reason to smile.

What began as widespread disappointment over poor UTME scores has now shifted, as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) confirmed that about 200,000 more candidates have now crossed the 200 score mark following the make-up exam.

The resit was JAMB’s response to a wave of technical and human glitches that marred the initial rounds of testing in April. The board had flagged faulty server updates across 157 centres, especially in Lagos and the South-East, which led to botched results for nearly 380,000 candidates.

JAMB acted swiftly, conducting a rescheduled exam for those affected. With the new results in, 565,988 candidates now stand above the 200 benchmark out of over 1.9 million who sat the exam.

This marks a meaningful improvement from the 439,961 who scored above 200 last year, and 355,689 in 2023, signaling a slow but steady academic rebound.

Still, challenges persist. Despite the positive shift, over 1.36 million candidates (70.7%) remain below the 200 mark. However, that figure is slightly better than the previous years’ averages, which hovered around 76%.

JAMB also noted a rise in candidates scoring 250 and above, a category that now includes over 117,000 students, the highest in three years. The trend suggests growing familiarity with the computer-based test format introduced in 2013.

The 2025 UTME is also historic in its reach: for the first time, 100% of registered candidates, 1,931,467, received their results, showing improved efficiency in the examination process.

However, JAMB warned that the recent disruptions exposed deep cracks in the system. Some Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres were found to be complicit in malpractice, and investigations are ongoing. Additionally, the board has released results for underage candidates who had previously been withheld, but reminded the public that these results won’t qualify them for admission due to age restrictions agreed upon at registration.