At least 5,000 candidates who scored 300 and above in the Unified Tertiary and Matriculation Examination organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board in five academic sessions failed to secure admission into tertiary institutions.
According to data obtained from JAMB by Saturday PUNCH in Abuja on Friday, a total of 8.5 million candidates sat the UTME during the period under review.
Out of the figure, only about 2.7 million were admitted to higher institutions of learning, leaving about 5.8 million stranded.
The UTME is the only acceptable examination taken by individuals seeking admission into tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Though some tertiary institutions may still schedule post-UTME for candidates seeking admission into their institutions, no individual can be admitted without a result verified by JAMB.
The examination body listed “wrong O’level subject combination, low post-UTME screening score, non-acceptance of admission offer, duplication of application, absence from post-UTME screening, and mismatch of catchment” as some of the reasons candidates, including high scorers, failed to gain admission.
According to the data, 1,792,719 candidates sat the UTME across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory in the 2019/2020 academic session.
Available data obtained from the policy meeting document of the following year suggested that only 612,557 candidates were admitted into higher institutions, leaving 1,180,162 without admission.
In the 2020/2021 academic session, a total of 1,949,983 candidates sat the UTME but only 551,553 admission quotas were filled according to the JAMB policy meeting document for 2021. This left 1,398,430 candidates without admission.
In the 2021/2022 academic session, a total of 1,400,000 candidates sat the examination but only 312,666 were admitted, while 1,087,333 did not secure admission.
In the 2022/2023 academic session, a total of 1,800,000 students sat the examination. However, only 557,625 admission quotas were filled according to the report released during the 2023 JAMB policy meeting held in Abuja.
The data revealed that 1,242,375 candidates failed to secure admission.
In the 2023/2024 academic session, the number of candidates who sat the exam stood at 1,635,881, while only those who got admitted stood at 639,263.
Experts seek result validity extension
Meanwhile, education experts have asked JAMB to extend the validity of its results.
The Programme Director, Reform Education Nigeria, Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, said, “I think the best thing will be for JAMB to extend the validity of the UTME. For instance, when you look at WAEC, you know that if you aren’t able to use it for admission the year you graduated, you can still use it later. Let JAMB extend the validity so that people won’t have to pay every year. The economic situation in the country isn’t smiling.”
Another educationist, Omotomiwa Daniels, said many students sat the exam annually.
“The ones not admitted get to write every year till they make it. Why not extend the validity of the UTME result from one year to maybe two or three years?” she added.
FG backs JAMB
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has assured Nigerians of the integrity of the Computer-Based Testing system used by JAMB, despite technical hitches experienced during the 2025 UTME.
Speaking in an interview in Lagos on Friday, Alausa reaffirmed his confidence in both the CBT system and the leadership of the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.
He described the disruption as a technical glitch that occurred due to shuffled questions not loading correctly in some centres, particularly in Lagos and certain southeastern states.
“What happened was not a reflection of the credibility of the CBT system or JAMB’s integrity. It was a human error by the service provider, which has now been addressed. The response was swift and transparent. JAMB assembled technical experts, conducted a forensic audit, identified the problem, and is now implementing a solution,” the minister stated.
He added that JAMB had taken pre-emptive steps before the examinations by conducting technical checks and working closely with its providers to safeguard the integrity of the process.
According to Alausa, the experience, though unfortunate, had served as an opportunity to improve examination processes.
Earlier in the week, Oloyede had openly apologised for the inconvenience caused to affected candidates and parents, adding that the examination body had traced the problem to a technical fault originating from one of its service providers.
He further disclosed that affected candidates would be rescheduled for another test.
Low turnouts
At some of the CBT centres where the rescheduled exams were held in Lagos on Friday, there was an average turnout of the students.
During the first session, Datforte International School in the Ahmadiyya area of Lagos had 212 candidates and 222 at the second session, out of the 250 expected for the resit per session.
New Ocean Comprehensive High School, also located in Ayobo, had a similar level of turnover, as just 230 students came for the first session at the centre.
