By Victory Okonjo
The 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination outcomes which came out recently definitely had a big impact on education in Nigeria. Over the years, academic qualifications have had great importance for success in the country, with many families putting expectations and funds into the yearly test. This year however, the statistics have revealed an upsetting truth that goes past personal let down.
For a long time, the test has been a way to create educational equality in Nigeria. This standardized test intends to provide a fair chance to pupils from both expensive private schools and underfunded state-operated schools. As test performance drops each year, doubts occur about the test meeting its goals. It may just show more basic system problems.
THE ALARMING STATISTICS
The numbers tell a devastating story of the harsh reality many Nigerian students face following the 2025 UTME results. Three out of four students didn’t even score up to 200 points, the minimum needed to gain admission into the university. Over 1.5 million young people, full of hope and ambition, walked out of the exam halls with results that might as well be a door slamming shut on their future. From Lagos to Delta to Maiduguri, these students are left wondering what comes next.
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) recently released its statistical analysis, to very little fanfare. Out of all the students who took the exam, only about 420,415 candidates scored high enough to pass. That’s about 21%. To put that in perspective, that is just a small fraction of the total number of students. The big whopper though is that less than 1% scored above 300. That’s literally a tiny sliver of students showing real academic excellence in a country of over 220 million people. No doubt, it is a wake-up call for Nigeria’s education system.
A NATIONAL CRISIS
As a public secondary school teacher with over fifteen years of experience, David Isichei sees the present situation in the country as a looming national crisis that very few people are talking about. He posited that: “When three-quarters of our youth cannot reach basic proficiency levels, we’re no longer talking about mere failure. You have to remember these are supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow. They are Nigeria’s future workforce and leadership.”
“The funny thing is that I see some people online only focusing on the few people that crossed the 300 cut-off mark. Yes, those performances are exceptional, but it shouldn’t excuse the abysmal ones. We’ve normalized failure to such an extent that we’re now redefining what constitutes acceptable performance rather than fixing the system that produces these results.”
HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND TRENDS
This educational free-fall didn’t happen overnight. Since 2019, JAMB has seen students’ performance decline steadily, leaving the body with no other choice but to dramatically lower the university admission cut-off marks all the way from the traditional 200 to a shocking 140 in recent years.
The 2025 examination season came with its own peculiarities. JAMB permitted over 40,000 underage candidates to take the examinations under a special dispensation for “exceptional abilities.” Unfortunately, only 467 of them, which translate to a meagre 1%, were actually able to prove the exceptional abilities that earned them early entry. Meanwhile, in examination centers nationwide, 71,701 registered candidates never even showed up to take the exams.
Cheating is still a big problem haunting the examination process, as desperate students employ any means necessary to avoid waiting another year. This year, 97 candidates were caught red-handed in examination infractions, and another 2,157 have remained under investigation for suspected acts of malpractice.
Not everyone could even receive their final results. The statement from JAMB notes that “results of blind candidates and others in the JEOG candidates group are still being processed,” revealing challenges with accessibility that have continued to persist in Nigeria’s education infrastructure.
BUCKING THE TREND: A SUCCESS STORY
Amidst the humbling statistics, success stories like Chioma Utulu shine even brighter. In 2025 JAMB examination, she scored a total of 228 in her UTME — an impressive result given the context of the current situation. With hopes of studying Mass Communication in the University of Benin, Edo, she attributes her success to her ability to structure her learning routine, avoid distractions and set out her main priorities accordingly.
Chioma explains that, “I have a reading timetable, and I made sure I stuck to it religiously. I was reading almost every minute. I also watched videos and tutorials on YouTube. I also used past questions. Some questions often repeat themselves in one way or the other, it’s just left for you to notice the patterns.”
When asked to speak more on her use of the internet, she explained that her use of social media was mostly limited to searching for learning resources that would help her in her work. She said, “There’s nothing wrong with using the internet. It’s just a matter of how you choose to use it. Some people use it to watch TikTok and IG, some others use it read. I use it for both, but it’s just a matter of knowing when to read and when to enjoy yourself.”
“I think the teachers do their best. It’s just that at the end of the day it’s left for the students to go into the exam hall to perform, although, the truth is that not everybody knows how to use a computer properly.”
WHAT HAPPENED TO NIGERIA’S ACADEMIC CULTURE?
Many educators point to a gradual erosion of academic culture among the vast population of the Nigerian youth. Isichei argued that, “today’s students live in a distracted world. When I started teaching, there were much fewer diversions. Now, between social media, online entertainment like TikTok, and the lure of get-rich-quick schemes and yahoo yahoo, sustained academic focus has become increasingly rare.”
“The students are not blind to what is going on all around them. When they see that there is little to no correlation between educational credentials and economic security, they will surely lack motivation. People graduate and they don’t even see jobs. What is the point of investing thousands of hours in academic pursuits when the returns are not even guaranteed?”
The society is changing, and in Nigeria’s current economy, where the purchasing common goods like garri is as tough as a bag of nails, having a degree doesn’t guarantee a job like it used to. Students see graduates struggling to find work while others become rich overnight through entertainment, sports, or tech startups. When academic success translating to real-life success doesn’t seem like a sure odd, it should come as no surprise that students all over the country are rethinking their priorities. The old formula isn’t working anymore.
CURRICULUM CHALLENGES AND ASSESSMENT METHODS
Nigeria’s educational curriculum, which is overseen by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), has gone through several reforms since the country’s independence in 1960. As of last year, the country had been operating using the 6-3-3-4 education system (including 6 years of basic or primary education, 3 years of junior secondary, 3 years of senior secondary, followed immediately by 4 years of tertiary education).
Recently however, the federal government proposed the 12-4 system (12 years of basic, junior and senior secondary education, followed by 4 years of tertiary education) to be implemented in order to align with international standards. On paper, this curriculum compares favorably with frameworks used internationally. Nevertheless, implementation remains the greatest and most important challenge.
The UTME, administered as a computer-based standardized test significantly has made the exam process more efficient and reduced cheating to an extent, thanks to its digitization. Nevertheless, questions about its efficacy as a true measure of academic potential have been brought up, with critics asserting that it favors memorization of common knowledge and facts over the actual understanding and application of said knowledge.
With over 30 years of experience, retired government school teacher, Mrs. Josephine Nwadede confirmed these sentiments. For Nwadede, “Some students can’t tell you what they read five seconds after giving them a test or exam. Meanwhile before the exams you’ll see them reciting it effortlessly. They will use gimmicks to try and recall what they crammed. They don’t actually have a deep understanding of what they’re reading. It is definitely a problem if you ask me, because what it shows is that we are not imbibing the right learning culture in these children.
“We always complain about lack of competent graduates in the labour market, but maybe we need to ask the deeper questions. Why will a graduate that came out of school with a first class result, or a second class upper go to the workplace and not have good command of the English language? Some of them don’t even know how to write properly without making mistakes. Some of them cannot spell. Some of them cannot apply critical thinking and be creative or come up interesting solutions to problems we have.”
“So yes, it’s very likely that there is an issue with how we approach education in this country. We need to be teaching these children important skills that are actually needed in real life. We also need to be more intentional in our teaching methods. A good teacher can identify the strength and weaknesses of all her students. Focus on their strengths and help them build on it. In some countries, they set questions where there is no absolute answer. Those kind of questions will push students to present their own opinion, using their original thoughts. Then the teacher will assess the student based on the strength of his logic.”
In Nigeria, examination results have become everything, superseding actual assimilation of knowledge, and this has created a huge industry around test preparation. Lesson teachers, tutorial centers, and special study materials are all over the place. Parents spend lots of money on these extra services, in the hopes that it will give their kids an edge in the tough university admission process. Although, while such options might be available to families on the middle to higher end of the social spectrum, where does it leave those in the lower class? When they cannot afford these options, what next? How can they hope to compete?
Sadly, this only serves to reinforce already prevalent socioeconomic disparities. Globally, many countries have moved beyond just exams, using project-based assessments, personality profiles, portfolios, and continuous evaluation to get a clearer picture of a student’s actual abilities. Nigeria’s heavy reliance on exams might seem drastic outdated in comparison, necessitating an urgent need for change.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND RESOURCE GAPS
The deteriorating infrastructure across many schools in the country further compounds the problem. Overcrowded classrooms with student-teacher ratios often exceeding 80:1 in public schools have made meaningful and substantive correspondence between teachers and students tedious, especially in public schools. Individualized attention to students is almost impossible to achieve, and students easily slip through the cracks. There have also been complaints about scarce reading materials and resources in the past.
A parent, Mrs. Ngozi Nwabueze alluded to this reality, saying “you cannot expect students to take their education seriously when the system itself appears not to take them seriously. Many public schools lack functional libraries, laboratories, or even consistent electricity. How do we expect students to develop scientific curiosity or research skills in such environments?”
The COVID-19 pandemic was another major setback for Nigeria’s already struggling education system back in 2020. Some schools had to close up for months, while others rushed to finish their scheme of work for the term in order to meet up with exams. Most schools quickly switched to online learning but this break had already left lasting effects on the students’ readiness and motivation.
Isichei also made reference to irregular salary payments and posited that the government needs to step up their game as the declining investment in education — especially when juxtaposed with the rapid population growth in the country — cannot continue to be overlooked. He argued that, “Did you know that Nigeria allocates less than 10% of its budget to education, and that it is far below the 26% recommended by UNESCO? So you should not be surprised when you discover that many schools have little to no structure. The teachers are demoralized. There are no adequate resources. The implication there is that education is not really valued at the national level, and that is not something you like to hear as a teacher, or even a student.”
“Years of neglect have left so many educators demoralized. Salaries are not steady. Teachers cannot even make ends meet and you expect them to focus on teaching? When I was started out, I was juggling jobs. Teaching wasn’t my only job. If I had relied entirely on teaching, I don’t know where I would have been today.”
THE DIGITAL DISTRACTION FACTOR
The 2025 UTME result analysis published by JAMB left many educators and stakeholders gobsmacked, and it will no doubt force policymakers to directly confront the uncomfortable questions about student preparedness. Nevertheless, for writer and businessman based in Asaba, Mr Tony Okafor, the relationship between today’s students and their digital devices such as phones and laptops, is a major contributing factor to the mass failure, even amidst the systemic issues in Nigeria’s educational framework.
Okafor argued that, “Students today are glued to their android phones. They cannot survive without it and it’s changing their priorities. Instead of reading books, they’re fed a steady diet of Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and so on. Meanwhile studies have told us that too much screen time can lead to shorter attention spans and reduced critical thinking skills.”
“Parents should not be giving children phones too early. Instead of sparking their imagination with literature books, students are getting devices that distract them. In many homes, the parents and children don’t even talk too much. Both the parents and the children are stuck to their phones.”
“This constant distraction is a detriment not just to academic performance, but even family relationship. It’s high time parents rethink their approach and find a better balance for their kids.”
Today’s students study differently than previous generations. Back then, most students would spend hours in the evening, doing homework and reviewing lessons of the day either alone or with their parents. These days, most students multitask, studying while responding to messages or watching videos.
Educational psychologists have also noticed that constant social media use affects young adolescent brains, rewiring it to expect instant gratification and constant stimulation over time. This will in turn, make it even more difficult for students to focus on complex concepts during their lessons. Whenever it’s time to study for exams, many students may lack the mental stamina needed for sustain focus because of this.
In a 2023 report published by JAMA Paediatrics, the authors confirmed this assertion. According to them “our findings suggest that checking behaviours on social media in early adolescence may tune the brain’s sensitivity to potential social rewards and punishments. Whereas individuals with habitual checking behaviours showed initial hypo-activation but increasing sensitivity to potential social cues over time, those with non-habitual checking behaviours showed initial hyper-activation and decreasing sensitivity over time.”
“Two primary theories contend over whether hypo- or hyper-responsivity to rewards is more associated with behaviour. The hyper-responsive theory posits that adolescent reward-associated behaviours are associated with greater activation of the ventral-striatal dopamine circuit. Consequently, adolescents would experience an increased dopaminergic release in response to social feedback and rewards, which further encourages high-reward behaviours.”
Social media platforms are well known to promote passive scrolling over active learning, through an algorithm that bombards viewers with so many options that it becomes difficult to keep track of what might be of interest. To truly learn, students need to work through problems independently or engage fully with lessons in their textbooks. This calls for a rethink of study habits by students to find a better balance.
SCHOOL NA SCAM: A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE
Nevertheless, with or without digital distraction, a recurring sentiment among youths and teenagers in schools today is the notion that “school na scam”. This axiom appears to have risen from the belief that information learnt in school has little to no relevance in the outside world. An Asaba based private school Senior secondary student, Mary Nwabueze touched on this topic while sharing an anecdote involving her brother. According to her, “My brother finished school three years ago and he said he’s never used any of this information in his job. I want to work in digital marketing or maybe start my own business someday, but we never learn anything about that.”
“I actually love writing stories and creating digital art, but there’s no time for that. We have eleven subjects, and each teacher gives assignments like theirs is the only class we take. By the time I get home and finish all my homework, it’s time to sleep.”
“Sometimes I feel guilty when I spend time on things I’m actually interested in because it takes away from studying for exams. But then I just feel frustrated studying things I don’t see the purpose of. It’s like we’re just going through subjects without understanding why or how they are important.”
These admissions reveal a growing sentiment among Nigeria’s secondary school students: the disconnect between what they are being taught in classrooms and what they believe they will need to truly succeed in life. As the country’s youth face a rapidly changing job market, many of them are left to question whether their education is actually preparing them for the future and stark reality of the country in the first place.
For Mary, this approach leaves very little room for creativity or exploration of personal interests. Her school day runs from 8 AM to 3 PM, followed by occasional extra lessons that run until 5 PM. Most schools now seem to emphasize a rigid curriculum with few electives or opportunities for self-directed learning. Creative subjects like art, music, and drama have been gradually phased out in favor of academic disciplines that are believed to be more relevant or “serious”.
These concerns also extend towards the state of future employability. Mary stated, “My parents keep saying, ‘Study hard to get a good job,’ but my neighbour has a University degree and finished his NYSC. He has been unemployed for two years. What’s the point of memorizing all this information if it doesn’t even help me to get a job or start a business?”
Nwadede responds to this sentiment by explaining how the government can adequately address the relevance question: “This new curriculum has to incorporate career exposure. Professionals from different fields should meet with students on a regular basis and explain how those things being taught in the classroom applies in their work.”
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
What we are now confronted with is a perfect storm of challenges with a curriculum that is mostly divorced from the contemporary realities, deteriorating infrastructure across the country, distracted students, demoralized teachers, and diminishing investment in the sector. The educational system as a vehicle in Nigeria has arrived at a crossroads, and the next path that will be taken is what will determine whether the nation’s demographic dividend will become an asset or a liability in the years to come.
Countries facing similar difficulties in the past have successfully transformed their educational systems significantly through visionary leadership and evidence-based reforms. The Nigerian government, educational institutions, parents, and students must recognize their interconnected responsibilities in this revival and join hands to bring about a revolution.
Improving the quality education across all levels demands a holistic approach that must begin with curriculum overhaul. Nigeria may have to consider a transition from its examination-focused system that solely rewards memorization to a system that cultivates critical thinking, innovation and a knack for troubleshooting and problem-solving. This can be bolstered by a curriculum designed to be standard and relevant both globally and locally.
David Isichei emphasizes the importance of teacher welfare in any reform efforts: “You cannot talk about having quality education when your teachers are not motivated. Better salaries and social respect for the profession are non-negotiable if we want to see improvement. It will go a long way.”
It is clear that for the country’s education sector to forge ahead without problems, all hands must be on deck to produce consistent efforts that will materialize in tangible results at the end of the day.
At this stage, the question is not whether Nigeria can afford to rejig the educational system drastically, but whether it can afford not to. The 2025 UTME results have sounded an alarm, and the nation would be ignoring it at its own peril. The time for minute, incremental changes has long passed. An educational revolution is needed now more than ever.
