In the recently concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) revealed that 40,247 underage candidates were permitted to participate in the examination to demonstrate their exceptional academic abilities.
However, only 467 of these candidates, representing 1.16 percent, attained scores that met the Board’s threshold for exceptional ability.
The development was announced in a statistical breakdown shared via the official X account of JAMB (@JAMBHQ), alongside a full analysis of the national performance of over 1.9 million registered candidates.
JAMB stated that “their performance in the subsequent three stages is still pending,” indicating that the 467 qualifying underage candidates will undergo additional evaluations before final consideration.
The general performance chart showed that 1,955,069 candidates were registered for the 2025 UTME. Among them, only 12,414 candidates (0.63%) scored 300 and above, including 4,756 candidates (0.24%) who scored 320 and above, and 7,658 (0.39%) who fell within the 300–319 range.
The majority of candidates, 983,187 (50.29%), scored between 160 and 199, followed by 334,560 (17.11%) in the 200–249 range and 488,197 (24.97%) in the 140–159 band. A smaller proportion of candidates, accounting for just under 7 percent, scored between 120 and 299, while less than 1 percent recorded scores below 120.
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In terms of examination conduct, JAMB reported that 97 candidates were involved in examination infractions, while 2,157 others are currently under investigation for suspected malpractices.
The Board also confirmed that 71,701 candidates were absent during the exams. Candidates who experienced biometric issues are still under investigation and, if cleared, will be rescheduled for the examination at designated centres.
Furthermore, some results, including those of blind candidates and JEOG group candidates, are still being processed. JAMB assured the public that a press conference will be held later in the week to formally announce the release of individual results and to provide result-checking guidelines.
