200,000 Candidates Score Above 200 After UTME Resit

At least 200,000 additional candidates surpassed the 200-point average in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination after the resit conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, which followed the discovery of both human and technical errors that affected the initial exam.

According to the resit results released on Sunday, JAMB reported that a majority of the candidates—1,365,479 (70.7 per cent) out of 1.9 million — still scored under 200, combining the original test and the resit outcomes.

In the initial results published on May 9, 2025, more than 1.5 million out of the 1.9 million candidates who sat for the exam scored under 200 out of a total of 400 marks, sparking widespread concern nationwide.

Due to ongoing pressure, JAMB launched an inquiry into the widespread failure and identified faults in both its systems and operations.

As a result, it arranged a resit for 379,000 candidates located in Lagos and in states within the South-East region.

The resit results made public on Sunday showed that many of the students who had previously scored below 200 were now able to exceed the average mark.

JAMB stated that following the resit, the number of students scoring under 200 dropped from over 1.5 million to 1,365,479, suggesting that approximately 200,000 more students managed to attain the average score or higher.

According to JAMB, the revised results demonstrate better performance than previous years since the Computer-Based Test format was introduced in 2013.

The report shows that 1,931,467 results were issued in 2025, representing all the candidates who took part in the examination.

This number is higher than the 1,842,364 results released in 2024, indicating a continuous rise in UTME participation over recent years.

In comparison, 8,401 candidates (0.46 per cent) obtained similar high scores in 2024, while only 5,318 candidates (0.35 per cent) reached this level in 2023.

Even fewer candidates reached this range in earlier years—just 724 (0.06 per cent) scored 300 and above in 2021, while none did so in 2014 and 2013.

For those scoring 250 and above, 117,373 candidates (6.08 per cent) achieved this in 2025.

This marks an increase from 77,070 (4.18 per cent) in 2024 and 56,736 (3.73 per cent) in 2023.

Likewise, “565,988 candidates, accounting for 29.3 per cent, scored 200 and above, compared with 439,961 (24 per cent) in 2024 and 355,689 (23.36 per cent) in 2023,” the report stated.

Even with these gains, the majority of candidates — 1,365,479 (70.7 per cent) — still scored under 200 in 2025.

This shows a minor improvement compared to 76 per cent in 2024 and 76.64 per cent in 2023.

Yearly comparisons show noticeable changes in student performance. For instance, in 2021, just 168,650 candidates (13 per cent) scored 200 and above, while in 2016, 568,847 (34 per cent) reached that range.

There has been a steady rise in the number of high scorers in recent years, pointing to better academic outcomes and increased familiarity with the CBT method.

Since the rollout of CBT in 2013, JAMB has continued enhancing how the exam is conducted, and the 2025 performance seems to reflect these improvements.

JAMB is expected to release additional information about how these results will impact the current year’s university admissions.

JAMB earlier announced the release of the resit results for those affected by technical issues during the 2025 UTME.

The first set of results for the 2025 UTME were made public on May 9. But by May 14, JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, revealed that 379,997 candidates from 157 centres in Lagos and South-East states were impacted by a system malfunction.

The registrar confirmed that these candidates would retake the exam.

He explained that the issue arose from problematic server updates, which disrupted the proper submission of candidates’ answers during the first three days of testing.

JAMB has also released the results of over 41,000 underage candidates, along with the 379,775 individuals who retook the UTME in the South East and selected centres in Lagos.

This was shared in a statement issued by the Board on Sunday.

“The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has released the results of the recently conducted 2025 UTME resit examination for candidates at centres impacted by the unfortunate incident.

“While this situation is unfortunate, it has also revealed numerous alarming practices perpetrated by candidates, certain Proprietors of Schools/Computer-Based Test centres, which have exacerbated examination irregularities,” the board said.

“As part of the healing process, the meeting resolved that the withheld results of the underage candidates (except where litigation is involved) who performed below the established standards be released. Such result does not, however, qualify them for admission, as they had previously signed an undertaking during the registration process acknowledging that only those who meet the prescribed standards would be considered for under-aged special admission.”

With this new release, the number of candidates who scored less than 200 in the 2025 UTME has dropped from over 1.5 million to 1.3 million.

The number of students who achieved scores of 200 and above now stands at 565,988.