No fewer than 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, findings by Saturday PUNCH have revealed.
According to data obtained from JAMB by our correspondent 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.Admission data.
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 JAMBMeanwhile, 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.
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.