The recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) resit conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has led to a notable increase in the number of candidates scoring 200 and above, with an additional 200,000 achieving the benchmark following the re-examination.

The resit, which was held for 379,775 candidates in Lagos and South-East Nigeria, was prompted by widespread technical and human errors that affected the integrity of the initial exams. These issues had resulted in a significant number of candidates scoring below expectations, sparking public concern and calls for accountability.

In response, JAMB launched an investigation and confirmed that faulty server updates had disrupted the upload of candidates’ responses during the first three days of the original examination, affecting over 157 centres.

The results of the rescheduled exam, released on Sunday, show a marked improvement. While the initial May 9 results indicated that more than 1.5 million of the 1.9 million candidates scored below 200, the updated figures after the resit show a decrease in that number to 1,365,479. This translates to 565,988 candidates—29.3%—now scoring 200 and above, up from just 24% in 2024 and 23.36% in 2023.

“This outcome reflects a significant performance improvement,” JAMB stated. “The revised data confirms the effectiveness of the resit in correcting technical disparities and providing a more accurate assessment of candidates’ abilities.”

Further analysis reveals a steady upward trend in high-scoring candidates since JAMB adopted the Computer-Based Test (CBT) format in 2013. In the 2025 UTME, 117,373 candidates (6.08%) scored 250 and above—up from 77,070 (4.18%) in 2024 and 56,736 (3.73%) in 2023.

In the higher performance bracket, 8,401 candidates (0.46%) scored 300 and above in 2025, compared to 5,318 (0.35%) in 2023. Only 724 candidates reached that level in 2021, and none did so in 2013 or 2014.

JAMB also confirmed the release of results for over 41,000 underage candidates, with the caveat that only those meeting admission standards would be considered, in line with their pre-exam agreements. The board highlighted disturbing patterns of malpractice involving some school proprietors and CBT centre operators, uncovered during the resit process.

Overall, JAMB released results for all 1,931,467 candidates who took part in the 2025 UTME, an increase from 1,842,364 in 2024. This reflects a growing interest in tertiary education across the country.

Although the majority of candidates still scored below 200, the slight improvement from previous years (76% in 2024 and 76.64% in 2023) suggests progress. The board has promised further updates regarding the impact of the 2025 UTME results on tertiary admissions.

JAMB’s latest effort to restore credibility and accuracy to its examination process has been largely commended, with the resit offering many candidates a fairer chance at success.