2025 UTME: Parents speak on poor candidates’ performance

Some parents in Lagos State, on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, expressed disappointment and concerns over the poor performance of candidates in the just concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

Some parents said the low performance could be attributed to a number of issues.

The UTME results were on Monday released by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

According to the statistical breakdown of the 2025 results released by JAMB, 1,955,069 candidates sat for the UTME, with performance across score ranging from 320 and above (4,756 or 0.24 per cent); 300–319 (7,658 or 0.39 per cent).

Others are 300 and above (12,414 or 0.63 per cent); 250–299 (73,441 or 3.76 per cent); 200–249 (334,560 or 17.11 per cent).

The candidates who scored 160–199 are 983,187 or 50.29 per cent; 140–159 (488,197 or 24.97 per cent); 120–139 (57,419 or 2.94 per cent); 100–119 (3,820 or 0.20 per cent); while those who scored below 100 are 2,031 or 0.10 per cent.

A parent, Oluwaseun Oluwajuwon, attributed the low performance to lack of reading culture among the candidates.

Oluwajuwon, a cyber security expert, said: “Students’ participation in academic matters is very low, with many preferring social media and other distractions over reading and learning.

“We parents need to really pay attention to our kids. We need to make sure they follow moral standards and ensure they study hard.”

How to check 2025 UTME results

Another parent, Saidat Oduwole, a pharmacist, said the quality of education contributed to the poor performance of candidates.

Oduwole stated that the quality of education had been dropping due to the current economic situation, making it difficult for students to access textbooks and other educational resources.

To a businesswoman, Ifunanya Bello, the low performance of the candidates may not be unconnected with unqualified teachers.

Bello stated: “A significant number of teachers in Nigeria’s education system are not qualified to teach.

“Schools need to employ qualified teachers to enable these children have a sound education that they deserve to merit any position they find themselves in life.”

An educationist, Adetoro Bello, attributed the low performance to media influence.

“The widespread use of social media among students is worrisome and this, for me, has distracted them from their studies, leading to a low performance in their examinations,” Bello said.

Another parent, Olufisayo Anthony, called on JAMB management to improve its performance, while attributing the poor performance of the candidates to technical issues.

Anthony said some candidates complained about the technical glitch they experienced while writing the examination.

“This might have affected their performance. JAMB needs to improve on their performance and ensure that these technical glitches become a thing of the past,” he said.

The Star