By Ghazali Ibrahim 
The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) results have sparked concerns as recent data released by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) reveals that a staggering 76% of candidates scored below 200 out of a possible 400 marks.
Out of over 1.9 million candidates who sat for the examination across the country, only 420,415 candidates managed to score above 200, according to figures released by JAMB on Monday.
This means that over 1.45 million students, representing more than three-quarters of all participants, failed to reach the average performance benchmark.
In the statement, JAMB also revealed that 40,247 underage candidates who were granted special permission to demonstrate exceptional ability fared poorly as well.
Only 467 of them, or 1.16%, scored high enough to be considered for further stages of academic assessment.
While JAMB has yet to announce the official cut-off mark for 2025 admissions, education stakeholders suggest the board may be forced to retain the 140 general cut-off mark introduced in recent years in response to similarly low performance trends.
