Shocking: Only 0.63% of 2025 UTME Candidates Scored 300 and Above

In a surprising turn of events, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released a statistical breakdown of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results, revealing that only 0.63% of the candidates who sat for the exam scored 300 and above.

Out of the 1,955,069 candidates who registered and sat for the 2025 UTME, just 12,414 managed to score within the prestigious 300–400 range. Even more startling, only 4,756 candidates crossed the 320 mark — that’s just 0.24% of the entire candidate population.

This means that over 99% of candidates scored below 300, raising fresh concerns about the current state of secondary education in Nigeria and the preparedness of students for tertiary-level academics.

Breakdown of Scores

According to the full performance chart:

• 250 – 299: 73,441 candidates (3.76%)
• 200 – 249: 334,560 candidates (17.11%)
• 160 – 199: 983,187 candidates (50.29%)
• 140 – 159: 488,197 candidates (24.97%)
• 120 – 139: 57,419 candidates (2.94%)
• Below 120: Over 5,800 candidates (combined 0.30%)

This clearly shows that more than half of the candidates (over 1.5 million) scored below 200 — the general minimum score many institutions use as a cut-off for admission consideration.

What This Means for Admission Seekers

With such low numbers scoring 300 and above, competition for top universities and competitive courses like Medicine, Law, and Engineering will be tighter than ever. Many candidates will have to rely on other admission metrics such as O’level performance, post-UTME scores, or supplementary admission options to boost their chances.

JAMB’s Response

The Board has acknowledged the statistics and stated that all candidates will be able to check their results soon, with a press briefing expected later in the week. Meanwhile, results of some categories — including those of blind candidates and members of the JEOG group — are still being processed.

Final Thoughts

The data paints a sobering picture: fewer than 13,000 candidates managed to score 300 or more out of nearly 2 million. As the 2025 admission process begins to unfold, students, parents, and stakeholders will be watching closely to see how institutions respond to this sharp drop in high scores.