JAMB reveals that a small fraction of underage candidates met exceptional performance benchmarks in the 2025 UTME, while highlighting instances of malpractice and ongoing investigations

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has provided a comprehensive overview of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), detailing the performance of underage candidates, the prevalence of examination malpractice, and the status of pending investigations and results.

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JAMB granted a special concession to 40,247 underage candidates to participate in the 2025 UTME, allowing them to demonstrate exceptional academic abilities.

However, the board revealed that only 467 of these candidates, representing a mere 1.16%, achieved the minimum score threshold set by JAMB as the benchmark for exceptional performance.

JAMB stated that the progress of these candidates will be further assessed through three additional stages.

The board also reported that 97 candidates were directly implicated in examination infractions, while a further 2,157 are currently under investigation for suspected examination malpractices. Additionally, a significant number of candidates, totaling 71,701, were recorded as absent during the examination period.

JAMB addressed the issue of candidates who encountered biometric verification challenges, stating that these cases are also under scrutiny.

Candidates who are eventually cleared through the investigation process will be rescheduled to take the examination at специально designated centers.

Furthermore, JAMB clarified that the results for certain categories of candidates, including blind candidates and those classified under the JEOG category, are still being processed and will be released upon finalization.

The board announced that it will hold a press conference later this week to officially release the individual results of the 2025 UTME and provide detailed procedures for candidates to access their scores.