2025 UTME Resit Results Released as JAMB Warns of Rising Digital Malpractice and Declining Top-Tier Performance
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has formally released the results of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) resit, conducted for candidates affected by technical or administrative lapses at previously disrupted Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres.
In a statement issued on Sunday by Dr. Fabian Benjamin, JAMB’s Public Communication Advisor, the Board disclosed that 336,845 candidates were scheduled for the resit, with 21,082 absent, leaving a turnout of just over 93%.
But beyond the headline numbers, JAMB’s latest disclosure offers a deeper—and troubling—look into the integrity of Nigeria’s education assessment systems, the performance trends over time, and the growing threat of cyber-enabled malpractice that threatens to undermine years of CBT-based exam reforms.
Performance Steady, But Integrity Worries Mount
While performance analysis for the 2025 UTME Resit Results remains within the historic range—between 11% and 34% scoring above average since 2013—the Board expressed grave concern over systemic malpractice involving candidates, CBT centre operators, and school proprietors.
According to Dr. Benjamin, the resit process unearthed “alarming practices,” including biometric manipulation, impersonation through altered registration data, and premeditated collaboration on encrypted platforms like WhatsApp ‘runs’ groups. These revelations prompted a high-level review meeting involving Chief External Examiners (CEEs) from across Nigeria.
A subcommittee chaired by Prof. Olufemi Peters, Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, was tasked with validating the results, while an independent psychometrics audit by Prof. Boniface Nworgu confirmed the integrity of the data prior to release.
Underage Candidates and Ethical Gray Zones
In a nuanced policy decision, JAMB announced that the results of underage candidates, whose results were previously withheld, will now be released—but without eligibility for admission, especially for those who failed to meet minimum performance standards.
These candidates, Benjamin explained, had earlier signed undertakings affirming that only those who meet established criteria would be considered under the underage waiver scheme. JAMB emphasized this release is not a license to breach academic or ethical thresholds but a “once-and-for-all administrative waiver.”
Malpractice Hotspots: CBT Centres and Tutorial Operators Under Scrutiny
Following thorough review, the meeting resolved that all implicated CBT centres would be blacklisted, and their operators prosecuted. Similarly, individuals found to have altered candidate biometrics or used fake images for registration will face legal action.
The role of unregulated tutorial centres was also spotlighted as a major contributor to the wave of digital exam malpractice. JAMB called on governments at all levels to initiate licensing, regulation, and monitoring frameworks for such centres, which have become breeding grounds for academic dishonesty and shortcut-seeking behaviour.
Tribalisation of Exam Outcome Sparks Alarm
Dr. Benjamin also condemned attempts by certain groups to spin the resit incident into a tribal or sectional narrative, describing such claims as dangerous distractions that could fracture social trust and institutional credibility.
“The resit and the entire examination process were neither targeted at nor manipulated by any specific region or ethnic group,” he said. “This kind of narrative only deepens division and undermines the Board’s objectivity.”
📊 12-Year Performance Trends: The Data Behind the Debate
JAMB’s full disclosure included a 12-year comparative data table reflecting UTME performance since the transition to Computer-Based Testing (CBT) in 2013. The results point to worrying stagnation in top-tier performance:
| Year | Total Candidates | Scored 300+ | 250+ | 200+ | Below 200 |
| 2025 | 1,931,467 | 0.88% | 6.08% | 29.3% | 70.7% |
| 2024 | 1,842,364 | 0.46% | 4.18% | 24% | 76% |
| 2021 | 1,312,390 | 0.06% | 1.63% | 13% | 87% |
| 2016 | 1,660,158 | 0.05% | 1.85% | 34% | 66% |
| 2013 | 1,721,647 | 0% | 0.3% | 11% | 89% |
The 2025 data shows only 0.88% of candidates scored above 300, while a worrying 70.7% failed to hit the 200 mark—a threshold often used for entry into competitive public universities. Despite digital innovation and broader access, learning outcomes at scale remain disturbingly low.
Policy Reflections: Reforms Need Reinforcement, Not Just Technology
JAMB’s experience is emblematic of a broader tension in Nigerian education policy: technology has advanced, but ethical culture and systemic regulation have lagged.
The latest resit experience makes clear that CBT infrastructure alone cannot guarantee exam integrity. Without robust civic education, tech-enabled monitoring, and strict accountability for stakeholders, the gains of digitisation risk being reversed by a new wave of sophisticated malpractice.
BRANDECONOMY Insight
The 2025 UTME resit saga is not just about test scores—it’s a referendum on the country’s readiness to enforce ethical learning in a digital world. For Nigeria to harness its demographic dividend, it must urgently confront the shadow economy of academic fraud. Reforming JAMB is only one part of a wider puzzle—school systems, teacher incentives, youth culture, and parental accountability must also be on the table.
